Whereas adequate incomes are essential for the wellbeing of community members and families; And whereas the current level of Income Assistance is not sufficient to cover the cost of the necessities of life, a problem made worse by sharp increases in the cost of housing, food, transportation and other human needs: Therefore be it resolved that the Province of British Columbia revise provincial Income Assistance programs to provide a liveable income for seniors, people with disabilities, and community members living in poverty.
Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction Government is committed to its the Together BC poverty reduction strategy, which was released in 2019. The strategy has legislated targets to reduce overall poverty rates in BC by 25 and child poverty rates by 50 by 2024. BC has met these targets by raising income and disability assistance rates by 175 per adult, doubling the amount of the seniors supplement, implementing the BC Family Benefit formerly BC Child Opportunity Benefit, increasing earnings exemption limits and making targeted investments to address housing and homelessness in the province. Despite this progress to date, the Province recognizes that more work needs to be done to address poverty. The COVID-19 pandemic, and more recently, the increase in the rate of inflation has had an unprecedented impact on people everywhere. More work is needed to reduce the depth of poverty for those still living in poverty and address specific populations who face high rates of poverty, including persons with disabilities, seniors, and Indigenous Peoples. The Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction SDPR is planning engagement to update the strategy by 2024, to meet the requirement of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Act that government must update the poverty reduction strategy every five years. As part of this work, SDPR is also looking at opportunities to review and modernize the two Acts that govern the BC Employment and Assistance BCEA program. This review will focus on the underlying rules that serve as barriers to applicants and recipients of assistance and on bringing the program into alignment with governments commitments to poverty reduction, equity, and reconciliation.