You can STILL make your 2024 charitable donation!
December 30th 2024: Federal Government has announced you now have up to February 28th 2025 to make your 2024 charitable donation!
Poor but tough: How single mothers in B.C. are fighting for economic stability
First Call appears in this article on the challenges poor single moms face in BC. Vancouver Sun / Dec 26th 2024
BC Child Poverty on the Rise: Special Focus on Single Mothers
For Immediate ReleaseDecember 3, 2024 BC Child Poverty on the Rise, Special Focus on Single Mothers Vancouver, BC — The 2024 BC Child Poverty Report Card, released today by First Call Child and Youth Advocacy Society, reveals a continuing sharp…
Vancouver Sun: Child poverty is a province-wide crisis, affecting B.C.’s urban, suburban and rural communities alike. By Adrienne Montani / First Call
Opinion: In 2021, over 126,000 children in B.C. lived in poverty. We need comprehensive policies that address the root causes of poverty.
First Call correspondence with Canadian Senate on Bill C-291
On March 21, 2024, First Call wrote to Chair Senator Brent Cotter and members of the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, urging them to pass Bill C-291. Passing this bill would amend the Criminal Code and other…
BC child poverty rates increase after COVID, says 2023 report card
BC child poverty rates increase after COVID, First Call Child and Youth Advocacy Society reports Vancouver, BC: First Call Child and Youth Advocacy Society has released its 27th annual BC Child Poverty Report Card that sheds light on the scope…
BC Child Benefit Submission – 2018
In 2018 First Call made a submission to the BC Government recommending that they redesign the BC Early Childhood Tax Benefit into a BC Child Benefit that would cover children under age 18, instead of under age 6, increase the…
2023 Child and Youth Housing In BC Report
Unaffordable housing and discrimination stand in the way of BC children’s right to housing Vancouver, BC: A new report released by First Call Child and Youth Advocacy Society (First Call), and funded by the Law Foundation, highlights the difficulties faced…
Bill S-210 – the Protecting Young Persons from Exposure to Pornography Act
On November 23, 2023 First Call sent a letter to all BC MPs and relevant federal cabinet ministers urging them to support Bill S-210, the Protecting Young Persons from Exposure to Pornography Act. This bill passed the Senate by acclamation…
First Call Urges MP’s to Repeal Section 43 of the Criminal Code
In November 2023, friends at Corinne’s Quest alerted us to an upcoming vote in Parliament on BC MP Peter Julian’s Bill C-273 calling for the repeal of Section 43. If MPs get enough encouragement from their constituents, we’re hopeful it…
Submission: Federal Budget 2024
First Call’s submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance for Budget 2024 includes recommendations that would help to improve the lives of families who are living in poverty. Those recommendations include: Read First Call’s submission here.
Making Ends Meet Report Release
August 9, 2023 Making Ends Meet Research Project Finds Vancouver Families Struggling (Vancouver, BC) Today, First Call Child and Youth Advocacy Society released Making Ends Meet: Low Wage Work, Poverty and Healthy Communities in Vancouver, a research report that found…
Letter to City of Vancouver on Transit for Teens
In our 2022 BC Child Poverty Report Card, First Call recommended that the provincial government “Provide free public transit for minors ages 13 to 18 and free or reduced-fee transit access for low-income households.” In June 2023 we wrote to…
Letter to Health Canada on Marketing to Kids
On June 13, 2023 First Call submitted a letter to Health Canada recommending changes to current policy proposals for regulations that will restrict the advertising to children of “Prescribed Foods Sodium, Sugars and Saturated Fat.” First Call is a long-time…
Letter to BC MPs
First Call wrote to BC Members of Parliament about the findings in our 26th annual BC Child Poverty Report Card. The report found that during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, BC’s child poverty rate dropped significantly largely due…
Submission: BC Budget 2024
First Call’s submission to the BC government’s Budget 2024 consultation included recommendations in three key policy areas. Drawing from the recommendations in our 2022 BC Child Poverty Report Card we encouraged government to increase investments in targeted child poverty reduction…