WHEREAS several provinces have recently committed to reducing poverty through coordinated planning and legislative changes; AND WHEREAS BC has the highest after-tax child poverty rate in Canada for the 6th year in a row, and the UBCM membership has endorsed resolution 2004-B135, which requested that the Government of Canada undertake, in a comprehensive and non-stigmatic manner, to end child poverty: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the UBCM support the proposed initiative by the BC Representative for Children and Youth to bring forward a child poverty plan, similar to the Province of Ontarios Poverty Reduction Plan, that will include the implementation of a comprehensive, cross-ministry strategy to address child poverty.
MINISTRY OF CHILDREN FAMILY DEVELOPMENT Government recognises that some children and youth are vulnerable to comparatively low health, education and developmental outcomes and continues to act to reduce these vulnerabilities. Governments strategy in this regard involves multiple ministries delivering services such as early childhood education and childcare, rental and medical subsidies, new immigrant settlement, assistance to families to gain employment and the lowest income tax rates in Canada for those on low incomes. Supporting families is a priority for this government and we are committed to helping families escape low income situations. While there is room for further achievement in the future, significant progress has been made in recent years. According to Statistics Canada, between 2003 and 2007 there was a decline of 6.2 percentage points in the proportion of children under 18 in BC living in households with total after-tax income below the Low Income Cut-Off. This compares with a decline of 3.2 percentage points for Canada over the same period. Government continues to monitor both child and youth vulnerabilities and family income trends carefully. Ministry of Children and Family Development staff would be pleased to meet with representatives from UBCM to discuss approaches to issues raised in British Columbias specific context.