Study says commitment needed from all BC political parties

[Reduce Aboriginal Poverty]

Poverty reduction commitment needed from all BC political parties

"The report calls on government to reduce overall poverty in B.C. by 30 per cent within four years, particularly among First Nations people, recent immigrants, children, women and the disabled. It also advocates eliminating deep poverty within two years and eliminating street homelessness within five years."

Concrete plan more important than ever in economic downturn: report
December 11, 2008

A Poverty Reduction Plan for BC
by Seth Klein, Marjorie Griffin Cohen, T Garner, Iglika Ivanova, Marc Lee, Bruce Wallace and Margot Young
http://www.policyalternatives.ca/news/2 ... a=BB736455
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Turtle Island Native Network
www.turtleisland.org
reports the latest report on poverty in BC includes this section . . .
Aboriginal Population

Aboriginal people are dramatically over-represented among those living in poverty in Canada.

In BC, according to the 2001 Census (the most recent data available on Aboriginal income), the rate of Aboriginal poverty was 35.9 per cent, over double the non-Aboriginal poverty rate of 17.2 per cent.50 While off-reserve Aboriginal poverty is present throughout BC, it is concentrated in Vancouver — Aboriginal people make up 1.9 per cent of Vancouver’s population, yet constitute 4.2 per cent of those living in poverty.

As well as the ongoing effects of colonization, some of this poverty gap is due to discrepancies in employment rates and income. There is a significant wage gap between the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal population — in 2000, the median income for Aboriginal workers in BC was $13,242, a mere 59 per cent of the median income of $22,535 for the non-Aboriginal population.

Aboriginal people face many barriers in gaining access to and retaining adequate employment, including systemic racism and lower completion rates of formal education. In 2005, the unemployment rate in BC for Aboriginal people was 15 per cent, almost three times the rate for the total population.

In an economic climate in which education is key to securing well-paid employment, approximately 39 per cent of Aboriginal people aged 15 years and over have not graduated from high school, compared to 18 per cent of non-Aboriginal people.

Fewer again have post-secondary qualifications — just over 5 per cent of Aboriginal people over 15 years old have a university certificate or degree, compared to 19 per cent of non-Aboriginal people.


The lack of affordable housing is another crucial issue for Aboriginal poverty in BC.

On reserve, it is estimated that the housing shortage is 20–35,000 units and increasing, while off-reserve, the core housing need among Aboriginal households is 76 per cent higher than among non-Aboriginal households.

Aboriginal people are also over-represented among the homeless within Metro Vancouver — approximately 32 per cent of the homeless are Aboriginal.


Aboriginal women’s issues need special attention.

Aboriginal women are consistently poorer than Aboriginal men. In BC in 2000, Aboriginal women had an overall poverty rate of 38.2 per cent compared to 33.4 per cent for men.

And single Aboriginal women are far more likely to live in poverty, with a poverty rate of 63.8 per cent compared to 55.6 per cent for single Aboriginal men. Aboriginal women are also significantly overrepresented among the homeless population — 45 per cent of homeless women are Aboriginal.

A central concern for Aboriginal women is the increasing rate of child apprehensions in BC. While the number of non-Aboriginal children in state care has decreased, the number of Aboriginal children being taken into care continues to rise, and currently, of the 9,271 children living in foster care in BC, more than half are Aboriginal.

According to a recent study from Pivot Legal Society, contrary to public perception, the reasons for removing children from their families are rarely physical or sexual abuse: they are most often due to neglect. In many cases, this neglect is an effect of poverty. Aboriginal children are twice as likely to be poor than non-Aboriginal children — Aboriginal children under 6 have a poverty rate of 40 per cent compared to a poverty rate of 18 per cent for non-Aboriginal children under 6. Once these children are apprehended, foster parents receive more money than parents who were trying to support their family on income assistance.


A focus on Aboriginal youth must also be part of a poverty reduction strategy.

In 2005, almost half the off-reserve Aboriginal population were youth under 25, who report leaving reserves for multiple reasons, from lack of employment and education opportunities to abuse and drug addiction. On arriving in the city, they often find themselves severely under-prepared for the reality of urban life, and experience feelings of loneliness, dislocation, and anxiety.

There is little support for this “culture shock” — few services provide Aboriginal-specific information about affordable housing options or employment centres, and youth often do not know how to access them.
Aboriginal people face longstanding poverty-related inequalities in health when compared to the non-Aboriginal population in BC. According to a report by the BC Ministry of Health and the First Nations Chiefs’ Health Committee, “life expectancy is shorter, infant mortality is higher, suicides are more common, and dependencies and related deaths are more frequent” among the Aboriginal population.

There is a much higher incidence of alcohol and drug-related deaths, as well as respiratory and smoking-related deaths. Diabetes is a major health risk for Aboriginal people — across Canada, they are three to five times more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes than the non-Aboriginal population. The rate of HIV infection within the Aboriginal population is also significantly above the non-Aboriginal population, and this is primarily due to the fact that many of the behaviours associated with poverty put people at risk for HIV.
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Plan to reduce poverty and homelessness
December 11, 2008

An economic downturn is the perfect time to tackle poverty, say the co-authors of a new report, A Poverty Reduction Plan for B.C., published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).

SFU political scientist Marjorie Griffin Cohen is one of seven co-authors. She says: “Maintaining the purchasing power of large numbers of people who spend all their money locally on necessities like rent, food and transportation will reduce the severity of a downturn.”

A new, national Environics poll reveals that eliminating poverty and homelessness is a key concern for British Columbians. According to the report, B.C. has the highest rate of poverty in Canada, yet also boasts the country’s highest average wealth, and more millionaires per capita than any other province. In B.C., most of the poor are working, yet their yearly income is $7,700 below the poverty line.

The report calls on government to reduce overall poverty in B.C. by 30 per cent within four years, particularly among First Nations people, recent immigrants, children, women and the disabled. It also advocates eliminating deep poverty within two years and eliminating street homelessness within five years.

The report’s action plan for achieving these goals includes targets such as:
Raising the minimum wage, strengthening employment standards and enforcing workplace protection to improve low-wage workers’ working conditions Increasing welfare rates by 50 per cent and removing arbitrary barriers preventing people in dire need from accessing welfare

An immediate start on building 2,000 units per year of new social housing
Implementing a universal, public early-learning and childcare program
Increasing post-secondary grants for low-income students