Lək̓ʔəŋən [LEKWUNGEN] TERRITORY / VICTORIA, B.C. — Leader of the BC Greens and candidate for Saanich North and the Islands, announced the BC Greens’ plan to end legislated poverty and address low assistance rates.
“Poverty is a political choice,” said Lowan. “In a province with immense wealth, it is unthinkable that one in 16 of us are living in deep poverty. The BG Greens believe that poverty is a systemic failure of government, and will take every avenue to address it.”
“The social and disability assistance rates are nearly $1000 below the poverty line, leaving vulnerable people in an even worse situation during a cost-of-living crisis,” said Lowan. “It’s time to address poverty at the root.”
The BC Greens will:
- Raise social and disability assistance rates to the market-basket measure of poverty and index them to inflation.
- Remove clawbacks to ensure people receive the full support that they need.
- Develop a poverty elimination plan tailored to Indigenous individuals, families, and First Nations, addressing the systemic impacts of colonisation and dispossession.
- Reduce bureaucratic barriers for non-profit service providers, ensuring they can effectively support vulnerable populations.
Click here to read our full Ending Legislated Poverty Policy Brief.
-30-
Media contact
Prym Goodacre, Media & Campaigns Officer
+778 650 0597
newsroom@bcgreens.ca