The provincial government needs to do more to address poverty, say Port Moody councillors.
Tuesday, Jan. 14, council approved a resolution put forth by Couns. Amy Lubik and Samantha Agtarap calling upon the British Columbia government to reinvigorate its poverty reduction strategies, including:
- the creation of timelines and actions to raise social and disability assistance programs to at least 75 per cent of the poverty line;
- the examination and elimination of barriers to income like clawbacks and program restrictions;
- the formulation of a plan and targets to reduce deep poverty;
- the creation of poverty reduction strategies specifically for Indigenous communities; and,
- the formulation of specific programs to assist seniors to stay in their homes and reduce their risk of homelessness and poverty.
Council also called for the implementation of a pilot program to provide a universal basic income.
Lubik said while all the initiatives are beyond the scope of municipal governments, it’s local governments that are “closest to the people.”
“People are struggling to get by, and we can advocate,” she added.
Agtarap said poverty reduction actually makes good economic sense as it can save money on health care and other social programs.
“It’s like preventative medicine,” she said.
In a report, Lubik said while B.C. has achieved much with its poverty reduction strategy that was implemented in 2019, including reforms to welfare rules that often delayed or denied assistance, as well as the introduced free post-secondary education for children formerly in the foster care system, it hasn’t kept pace with growing challenges.
She said it “lacks concrete plans” to reach its goals of reducing poverty in the province by 60 per cent, child poverty by 75 per cent and seniors’ poverty by 50 per cent by 2034.
Lubik said there also aren’t specific targets and programs to help Indigenous communities, including how to address food insecurity.
Lubik said a universal basic income could address many of those outstanding issues.
“Anything that helps people be more grounded and stable,” she told her fellow councillors. “We think this need to be at least tested in B.C.”
Last summer, Port Moody Mayor Meghan Lahti sent a letter to the provincial government on behalf of council calling for more action to address the homelessness issue in the Tri-Cities in the wake of growing concerns about the shelter facility at 3030 Gordon St. in Coquitlam.
“There has been a recent decrease in shelter spaces (including emergency weather shelters and supportive housing), and significant gaps in housing supports to address the growing need,” said Lahti.
The resolutions put forth by Lubik and Agtarap will be forwarded to the premier, Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs and Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction as well as to the Lower Mainland Government Association and the Union of British Columbia Municipalities.
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