First Call’s 23rd annual BC Child Poverty Report Card was released on Tuesday this week. Since 1996, the BC Child Poverty Report Card has been released each year on November 24, in conjunction with the release of child poverty report cards across Canada, marking the anniversary of the all-party House of MORE
Media Release January 14, 2020 One in Five Children Still Poor First Call’s 2019 Child Poverty Report Card Finds (Vancouver BC) Today, First Call: BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition released the 23rd annual BC Child Poverty Report Card finding that not much has changed for poor children and their MORE
Last week, the Prime Minister of Canada released ministerial mandate letters to guide the work of federal cabinet ministers. UNICEF Canada analyzed the ministerial mandate letters and outlined key policy priorities that will improve child and youth well-being in Canada and around the world. To mark the start of a new parliament, a new MORE
In March 2019, the Province of BC released their poverty reduction strategy: TogetherBC: British Columbia’s Poverty Reduction Strategy. The intent of the Poverty Reduction Planning & Action program is to support local governments in taking actions that reduce poverty at the local level and to support the Province’s poverty reduction strategy. The Province MORE
The Oxfam Summit gathers activists, community leaders and passionate individuals from across Canada to Ottawa (unceded and unsurrendered Algonquin Territory) for two and a half days packed full of workshops, inspiring speakers, and break-out sessions. The Day of Action follows the Summit where participants take all they’ve learned and put MORE
Last week, November 11-17, was Living Wage Week. The Living Wage for Families Campaign celebrated with a series of blog posts that dove deeper into their living wage calculations and what they reveal about working poverty in BC. The first blog post invited readers to learn how the provincial government’s child care MORE
October was Women’s History Month, and this Tyee article highlights the women who fought to deal with an issue society wanted to keep in the shadows; the unsung heroes who created Canada’s first women’s shelters. Darlene Lawson was a 23-year-old student when she joined the call to create the first women’s centre MORE
At our October Coalition Meeting, First Call voted in favour to become a member of the Coalition for Healthy School Food. The BC chapter is the first provincial chapter of the national Coalition for Healthy School Food, a group of 76 organizations seeking federal investment in a Universal Healthy School Food MORE
Rhys Kesselman, Professor Emeritus with Simon Fraser University’s School of Public Policy, is one of three researchers appointed to lead a B.C.-focused exploration of basic income. His recent article, published in the Financial Post, argued that a cost-neutral re-targeting of the Canada Child Benefit would permit an increase of $2,000 to MORE
Generation Squeeze released a petition calling for affordable homes for young Canadians. The petition notes that, “Canada’s housing market is out of control and people in their 20s, 30s and 40s are feeling the squeeze.” For this upcoming Federal Election, Generation Squeeze is encouraging you to add your signature to get federal MORE
Earlier this week, the Government of Canada provided an update on the implementation of Canada’s Poverty Reduction Strategy. With Opportunity for All – Canada’s First Poverty Reduction Strategy marking its first anniversary, Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, released the report entitled Canada’s Poverty Reduction Strategy – An Update. The update marks MORE
The Public Health Association of British Columbia will host its annual conference in November in downtown Vancouver. This year’s theme is “Simplifying Complexity: Public Health Approaches & Practice in Complex Systems,” and will explore sub-themes of food systems & security, immunization & infectious disease control, wicked problems in health equity, MORE
As was released in our past newsletter, the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services released their Budget 2020 Consultation Report and corresponding Media Release. We were pleased to see a number of recommendations included in the report. However, for the first time in many years, the report did not call for an increase to MORE
October 17th is the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. The Dignity for All Campaign for a Poverty Free Canada is organizing their annual Chew on This! Campaign. It is a non-partisan cross-country campaign to raise awareness about poverty in Canada by engaging with people on the street, in schools, MORE
Earlier this week, ACORN Canada held a series of events across Canada to launch their new report: Barriers to Digital Equality in Canada. The data was collected through a survey of around 500 low and moderate income household members across Canada. The report finds a digital divide between Canadians. Low-income respondents MORE