A plan is no guarantee something will get done, but the lack of a plan is a certain guarantee it won’t. B.C. has one of the highest child-poverty rates in Canada, a dismal record it has held for more than a decade. It is also one of only two Canadian provinces without a child-poverty reduction plan.
Coincidence? Probably not.
It’s not about where B.C. stands in relation to other provinces, it’s about 93,000 children living in poverty, whose futures are dim, whose opportunities are scant, many of whom will be doomed to a lifetime of poverty unless something can be done to break the cycle.
In a report released in October, Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, B.C.’s representative for children and youth, says the province has not done enough to implement recommendations her office has made over the past six years.
The report notes that 72 per cent of the 148 recommendations made to various ministries and agencies have been substantially or fully implemented.
“At superficial glance, that might seem like encouraging progress,” says the report. “But it is not. We are talking about the lives of children and youth — impressionable, needy and vulnerable youngsters who each deserve the full help, protection and commitment of their government. And in that context, a progress rate of less than 75 per cent is just not good enough.”
Of nine recommendations made to the government as a whole, seven have been largely disregarded, says the report.
One of these recommendations is a call for a provincial strategy and action to reduce child poverty.
“It is unacceptable that B.C. has consistently had one of Canada’s highest poverty rates,” says the report, “and yet there has been no concrete, over-arching action plan to address this glaring problem.”
Poverty isn’t just a matter of going hungry today — it closes doors on tomorrow.
Research consistently shows that poverty is linked to poor physical and mental health, domestic violence, higher crime rates and lower educational and career achievements.
In response to Turpel-Lafond’s report, Stephanie Cadieux, minister of children and family development, said B.C.’s rate of child poverty is 37 per cent lower than it was in 2001 and the second lowest in 20 years. She said a strong economy is the only way that a government can address the issues of vulnerable children.
The B.C. Liberals have pinned much of the province’s economic future on the development and export of liquefied natural gas. But the poverty-stricken children of the province can’t wait for that great LNG come-and-get-it day, if it ever comes.
While funding is necessary, money isn’t the only issue. Turpel-Lafond calls for “organizational leadership and the adequate deployment of resources — things that have too often been lacking on government’s part.”
Even if resource exports bring a boost in the economy, without a comprehensive and intelligent strategy, child poverty will not be erased. Booms bring prosperity for some, but booms also raise the cost of living, and the poor will be in danger of falling further behind.
In 2011, Turpel-Lafond urged the government to develop a non-partisan, comprehensive child-poverty plan, with specific strategies focusing on aboriginal children, who comprise a disproportionate percentage of B.C. children living in poverty. She says no progress has been made on that recommendation.
Fighting child poverty is a complex challenge, requiring co-operation among multiple ministries and agencies. A plan won’t magically make poverty disappear, but it’s a necessary step in moving toward that goal.
Waiting for the LNG ship to come in isn’t a plan, it’s wishful thinking.
