Child Poverty Report Card

The 2008 BC Campaign 2000 Child Poverty Report Card was released on Friday, November 21.

Download it now:
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Black and white version (printer friendly)
Press Release: No Olympic Medal for BC's Lead in Child Poverty Rate

Print and mail this letter to Premier Gordon Campbell asking him to take action!
National Campaign 2000 has also prepared a sample letter to Prime Minister Harper.

Read speaking notes from the report card press conference:
Rebecca Siggner - Why is poverty so high in our province? What needs to be done?
Lynell Anderson - public policy and public investment make the difference in addressing child poverty.

News

May 2009 - web site launched for the Living Wage for Families Campaign: www.livingwageforfamilies.ca

June 2008 - Campaign to repeal refugee transporation loan requirement.

May 5, 2008 - Press Release on Child Poverty 2006 data - BC's Child Poverty Rate Still Worst in Canada for Fifth Consecutive Year.

Increased Economic Equality

Child poverty is a regrettable and painful reality in British Columbia and every other province in Canada. The poverty rates in BC have moved up and down over the years, but we have been unable as a society to break the bonds of poverty for significant numbers of children and their parents.

Children remain poor because their parents remain poor. That may sound like stating the obvious, but it underlines a fundamental paradox in the fight against child poverty. We all say we value children and want to give children the best possible start in life, yet we ignore the needs of parents who are struggling to do their best amid the many demands of parenting in today's busy world.

Students Are Not to Blame: Understanding the Structural Causes of Family Poverty (2009)
Report from the BC Teachers' Federation on Poverty and Education.

The Time is Now: A Poverty Reduction Plan for BC (2008)
Report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Family Poverty Data for BC by City and Family Type
Statistics Canada data from the 2006 census.

Brief to the Senate on Urban Child Poverty (2008)
In February 2008, First Call Chair Michael Goldberg presentated to the Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology on the topic of urban child poverty.  This briefing is an overview of topics including measuring poverty; child poverty rates; and the interaction between market income, social security benefits, taxation and statutory deductions, and income tested social programs.

BC Campaign 2000 Child Poverty Report Card (2007)
Every November through our partnership with Campaign 2000 First Call releases a series of report cards profiling child poverty in BC.

Leveling the Playing Field for Children: A Community Action Toolkit (2007)
This Community Action Toolkit provides information and resources on how to level the economic playing field for children and youth, including advocacy work around issues such as early learning and child care, child benefits, affordable housing, and parental leave. Open the bookmarks function to use the index of hyperlinks when navigating the document (in Adobe go to View>Navigation Panels>Bookmarks).

The factsheets from this toolkit are also available in Spanish and Vietnamese.

Child and Youth Development and Income Inequality: A Review of Selected Literature (2007
As part of our Leveling the Playing Field Project we have compiled a review of the relationship between income poverty, inequality and child outcomes in Canada, with a particular focus on studies completed since 1998.

Child Poverty Status Report (2006)
This report is the most detailed report on child and family poverty in British Columbia ever published by First Call. It includes not only province-wide data on poverty, but also data for 25 of the larger population centres in all regions of the province.