BR I T I S H

C O L U MBI A

This year’s BC Child Poverty Report Card is dedicated with love and gratitude to the memory of Steve Kerstetter (1943–2013).

Steve worked for years on producing First Call’s annual child poverty report cards and many other research pieces as part of his deep commitment to eliminating poverty and making life better for British Columbia’s children.

• INTRODUCTION: Action on Child and Family Poverty Long Overdue ........................ 4

• Fact Sheet #1 BC’s Poverty Rates the Worst — Again .................................................. 7

• Fact Sheet #2 Child Poverty Over the Years................................................................10

• Fact Sheet #3 BC Child Poverty Rates by Family Type................................................12

• Fact Sheet #4 Depth of Family Poverty .......................................................................14

• Fact Sheet #5 Child Poverty and Working Parents......................................................16

• Fact Sheet #6 Families With Children on Welfare .......................................................19

• Fact Sheet #7 Incomes of Families With Children — Growing Inequality .................. 22

• Fact Sheet #8 Importance of Government Help ........................................................ 25

• RECOMMENDATIONS: What Needs to Happen...........................................................27

• Appendix 1 Measures of Poverty............................................................................. 29

CONTENTS

BC, again, has the worst rate of child poverty in Canada.

Almost 19% of BC children live in poverty — compared to 13%in the rest of the country.

• The latest figures from Statistics Canada (2011) once again show that BC is the worst province in Canada when it comes to major measures of child poverty:

• BC had a child poverty rate of 18.6 per cent — the worst rate of any province in Canada, using the before-tax low income cut-offs of Statistics Canada as the measure of poverty.

• BC had the worst poverty rate of any province for children living in single mother families — 49.8 per cent.

• BC also had the worst poverty rate of any province for children living in two-parent families — 14 per cent.

• BC’s poverty rate for children under 6 years at 20.7 per cent is 8 percentage points higher than the Canadian average.

• British Columbia also had the most unequal distribution of income among rich and poor families with children. The ratio of the average incomes of the richest 10 per cent compared to the poorest 10 per cent was 12.6 — the worst of any province.

Calls for Change• 80% of British Columbians concerned about the widening

income gap (2011 public opinion poll)

• 87% of BC respondents thought the prime minister and premier should set concrete targets and timelines for reducing poverty (2009 public opinion poll)

• Calls for a provincial poverty reduction plan:

• Municipalities, teachers, school districts, health officers, business groups, the BC Poverty Reduction Coalition

• BC’s Representative for Children and Youth

• Most recent - BC Legislature’s Finance Committee

FACT SHEET #1

BC’S POVERTY RATES THE WORST — AGAIN

FACT SHEET #1

Source: Statistics Canada, Income of Canadians, 2011, Table 202-0802, Persons in low income families, annual.

BC MB ON NS PQ NL SK NB PEI AB Canada

13.6

13.0

10.5

13.3

FACT SHEET #1

CHILD POVERTY OVER THE YEARS

FACT SHEET #2

• BC’s child poverty rate has been above the national average since 1999

• 18.6% in BC compared to 13.3% nationally

• Children under 6 in BC had a poverty rate of 20.7% representing 52,600 children or more than one –third of BC’s poor children

FACT SHEET #1

BC CHILD POVERTY RATES BY FAMILY TYPE

FACT SHEET #3

• Significant increase in the incidence of poverty among BC’s female-led single parent families

• 49.8% of all children living in single mother families in BC in 2011 were living in poverty

• Represents approximately 55,000 children or 36% of all children living in poverty

• 92,000 poor children were living in 2-parent families

FACT SHEET #1

DEPTH OF POVERTY

FACT SHEET #4

• Poor 2-parent families in BC lived an average of $14,000 below the poverty line

• Poor female-led single parent family households lived an average of $9,000 below the poverty line

• The poverty line for a single parent with one child was $29,004

• The average single parent family living in poverty would have approximately $20,000

FACT SHEET #1

CHILD POVERTY AND WORKING PARENTS

FACT SHEET #5

• 31.8% of poor children in BC - 44,500 children - lived in families with at least one adult working full-year, full-time

• This measure showed an improvement compared to the previous year

• Alberta and Ontario had an even higher incidence of children living in working poor families

FACT SHEET #1

THE NEED FOR A LIVING WAGE

FACT SHEET #5

• For most families, earning only minimum wage would still leave them below the poverty line

• Families need a living wage, access to education and opportunities, affordable housing, affordable child care

• For Metro Vancouver, the Living Wage is calculated to be $19.62 per hour

FACT SHEET #1

FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN ON WELFARE

FACT SHEET #6

• Income assistance rates in BC have not increased since 2007

• A family of four – 2 parents, 2 children - receives $22,005 ($21,287 below the poverty line)

• A single parent with 1 child receives $17,402 ($11,602 below the poverty line)

• There were an estimated 37,577 children in families relying on income assistance in 2011

FACT SHEET #1

FEDERAL/PROVINCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS

FACT SHEET #6

• The purchasing power of income assistance rates in BC have dropped between 1989 and 2011

• Federal contributions to welfare incomes have increased over time but Provincial contributions have decreased

• Two significant enhancements have been the Canada Child Tax Benefit and the Universal Child Care Benefit (children under 6)

• Provinces are allowed to “claw back” payments

FACT SHEET #1

GROWING INCOME INEQUALITY

FACT SHEET #7

• 24% of the total income for BC families with children goes to the top 10% of families while the poorest 50% of families share 25%

• Average income among those in the poorest 10% was $18,070 compared to $227,164 for those in the richest 10%

• Represents a difference of 12.6 times

• BC’s average income in the lowest 10% was also below the national average of $23,024

FACT SHEET #1

GROWING INCOME INEQUALITY

FACT SHEET #7

BC AB ON SK PQ NS NB MB Canada

12.0 11.8

FACT SHEET #1

IMPORTANCE OF GOVERNMENT HELP

FACT SHEET #8

• Government transfers helped to reduce the number of BC children living in poverty from 223,000 children to 153,000 children -70,000 children

• However, BC stands out as having done the least to reduce child poverty when compared to the other provinces

FACT SHEET #1

IMPORTANCE OF GOVERNMENT HELP

FACT SHEET #8

48%

PQ NL AB SK NB NS ON MB BC Canada

FACT SHEET #1

THE INCOME THRESHOLDS –LICO BEFORE TAX

POVERTY MEASURES

STATISTICS CANADA’S LOW INCOME CUT-OFFS FOR 2011 (BEFORE TAX)

Size of household/ Size of community

500,000or more

100,000– 499,999

30,000– 99,999

Less than 30,000

Rural areas

1 person 23,298 20,065 19,941 18,246 16,038

2 persons 29,004 24,978 24,824 22,714 19,966

3 persons 35,657 30,707 30,517 27,924 24,545

4 persons 43,292 37,283 37,053 33,905 29,802

FACT SHEET #1

THE INCOME THRESHOLDS –LICO AFTER TAX

POVERTY MEASURES

STATISTICS CANADA’S LOW INCOME CUT-OFFS FOR 2011 (AFTER TAX)

Size of household/ Size of community

500,000or more

100,000– 499,999

30,000– 99,999

Less than 30,000

Rural areas

1 person 19,307 16,328 16,124 14,454 12,629

2 persons 23,498 19,872 19,625 17,592 15,371

3 persons 29,260 24,745 24,437 21,905 19,141

4 persons 36,504 30,871 30,487 27,329 23,879

FACT SHEET #1

WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Establish a goal to reduce BC’s child poverty rate to 7% or lower by 2020

• 16 recommendations –comprehensive approach that includes strengthening the social safety net, improving access to opportunities, addressing inequalities, supporting a living wage and responding to the specific needs of vulnerable families and individuals