British Columbia’s first poverty reduction strategy, TogetherBC, sets a path to reduce overall poverty in B.C. by at least 25% and child poverty by 50% by 2024. These targets were legislated in the Poverty Reduction Strategy Act, with measures aligned with Opportunity for All, Canada’s first poverty reduction strategy.
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So far, 2018 is turning out to be an important year for poverty reduction in BC. Currently, 557,000 people are living below the poverty line in Canada’s most western province – the second highest provincial poverty rate in the country. Against this sobering backdrop, the BC government has just completed a broad range of consultations with a variety of citizens, including people with lived experience. In June 2018, the government will release a “What We Heard” report summarizing feedback from the consultations, with plans to introduce poverty reduction legislation this fall. The intended result is the development and implementation of a poverty reduction strategy.
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