British Columbia Perinatal Health Program

How is British Columbia having the highest child poverty rate in canada important to canadian geography?

British Columbia's child poverty rate has remained the highest in Canada for six years in a row.How does that have importance to Canadian Geography? this is not homework!!!! it is an opinion piece that does not need to be submitted for marks. We are just sharing with a partner

Public Comments

1. (First as a suggestion, report answer no.1 as abuse. There is no need for this type of advertising. Thanks.) Now to your question. There are disproportionately high rates of child poverty among families facing barriers of systemic discrimination and this is predominant in British Columbia. Nearly half of all children in recent immigrant families live below the poverty line in B.C. One of the most economically vulnerable groups is single-mother families. Here are some of the suggestions to lower this rate. * Raising the minimum wage Canada-wide to $10 per hour. * Increasing federal work tax credits to $2,400 per year. * Investing federal dollars in social housing. * Raising the National Child Benefit Supplement to create a full child benefit for low income families of $5,100 per child per year. As far as the geographical aspect is concerned, it places neglect on the entire country. In all but two provinces, the poverty levels are in the double digits. This is an indication that our provincial and federal governments are more concerned with spending tax dollars on matters that will have nil effects on the support structure of this great country and lining the pockets of multinationals that don't even have their businesses in this country. E.g. Suncor, Kraft Foods, Exxon, Nestle, AIG, DeBeers, and so forth. Poverty in Canada is on the increase and will do so until we as Canadian citizens take a very firm stand and pressure the government to stop it's siphoning of dollars to worthless and irrelevant projects. The unfortunate conundrum is the fact that there is nobody currently in Parliament that would do this. Who would we vote in to make these necessary changes? There isn't anyone. Interesting. We help other countries in food matters but we don't take care of our own "first". Personally, I feel B.C. will be the catalyst for the rest of the country to see the province as a wake up call and action ( hopefully not being too late ) be immediately taken. This high poverty level decreases our childrens learning abilities, it creates more violence and prison terms, it degrades our self esteem and eventually make us a third world country that nobody will want to emigrate to. Thanks for letting me sound off. Regards, Warren
2. It is rather odd, since usually, the West has a higher income than the East, in most regions/cities, etc. Income levels in BC are lower because of culture, perhaps, not geography. The BC residents don't bow to the Almighty Dollar, like they do elsewhere. BC citizens won't spoil their air and water for the sake of "progress", imo. BC is very spread out and there are ethnic / first nation enclaves. Also, real estate and consumer goods, vehicles are very expensive --- you spend more, save less. However, that being said, the "general happiness quotient" is not always symmetrical with the gross domestic product or poverty scale. For example, Surrey BC has more kids parties' banquet hall parties than probably Mississauga, Ontario (a comparable suburb). Check out the number of Punjabi banquet halls in Surrey, and look at the fun they have at these one-year-old parties. You certainly won't get the frequency and size of parties like these, for kids, in Toronto, where society is less interested in their kids' fun, imho. Here are some video clips: SURREY BC GRAND TAJ BANQUET HALL - PUNJABI KIDS BIRTHDAY PARTY CELEBRATION http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHBDzqiZ8jY $125 ENTERTAINERS AT GRAND TAJ BANQUET HALLS SURREY BC KIDS http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9v3bi_125-entertainers-at-grand-taj-banqu_people from $35/hr Helium-free flying balloon animals Surrey BC balloonist's Helium-free flying balloon animals World's First Anti-Gravity Balloon Animals Invented at Dhaliwal Banquet ...Vancouver's First Anti-Gravity Balloon Animals Invented at Dhaliwal Banquet Hall Party http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xa3t6p_from-35hr-surrey-bc-balloonists-fly_people?from=rss Surrey BC's First Animated Balloon Animal Sticks Out Tongue at Grand Taj Ballroom Kids Party http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1KjD5xdJJc So, the "poverty rate", which is the "income level" imho is assymetrical to the spending level.
3. You have some good answers. I found the the following report useful, as it states the 1989 House of Common's unanimous resolution “to seek to achieve the goal of eliminating poverty among Canadian children by the year 2000", and goes on to explain shortfalls and recommendations. 2009 Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Canada 1989-2009 http://www.nwac-hq.org/en/documents/Campaign20002009NationalReportCard.pdf On page 3 of the report, Chart 2: Child Poverty in Canada and Provinces, 2007 clearly shows BC with the highest child poverty rate. New Brunswick, my province, at 16.7% is very close behind British Columbia at 18.8%. Sadly, despite poverty reduction strategies (at least in NB), many children and families are not assisted by these programs. I'm certain the situation is the same in BC; but, as someone who used to make a good salary; but have been on disability insurance for years, it is an ongoing struggle to just provide basic food, shelter, medication, etc. for my child. When one is living below the poverty line, the stress alone impacts good well-being. How are children to learn adequately (and to their potential) when they're hungry, cold, bullied by schoolmates, etc. To obtain much of the assistance available, an individual needs to have a lot of strength and physical stamina to deal with gov't agencies/employees. So, if one doesn't have the physical well-being to continue to just fight for their basic needs, they are left on the sidelines. Concern is truly not for the disadvantaged. And, rather than offer help, these agencies' employees look down their noses in judgement or ignore the need altogether. Being in poverty feeds the poverty cycle because children and families cannot have good health (physical or emotional) when they cannot eat sufficient food (and I don't even mean food consumption in accordance to the Canada Food Guide). In our family's case, we're actually more ill now that we were 7 years ago, when I went on sick leave. Poverty only pepetuates the cycle. If things are similar in BC, others there must feel the same, as I know I'm losing faith that things will actually improve. Perhaps more and more families feel this way; thus perpetuating the levels of poverty. Schools assume parents have money to purchase little items for their children, without notice, and view it as abuse that a parent doesn't have 50 cents to purchase a sheet of bristol board. It's embarrassing and shaming to a child, when they discretely tell their teacher they don't have the money to make a minor purchase, and the teacher says absolutely nothing, except to stare at the child. Poverty creates many problems which many I do not think consider; such as even transportation to the doctor, drugs not covered by prescription plans, etc. To deal with bullying, my son was driven to school for three years, as the bullying occurred on a daily basis at the bus stop. This year, the car is "parked", as funds are unavailable for increasingly high repairs. Despite written requests for assistance to help my son deal with the bullying, a blind eye has been made by everyone involved. I believe bullying is an issue in BC too. Options for children to deal with bullying are greatly reduced by poverty, as the parents do not have the resources to assist their children. Those in poverty have to rely on the integrity of others to come alongside. But, like this report suggests, child poverty is a dirty little secret that Canada would like to sweep under the rug. Unfortunately, all Canadians will eventually feel the impact. A quote from page 12 of the report summarizes the long-term benefits of preventing poverty: "The long term benefits of poverty prevention will be felt by all Canadians. There is good evidence that as a society we either share the collective responsibility to prevent child and family poverty, or we face rising costs in health care services, criminal justice and education. In times of economic uncertainty a comprehensive poverty reduction plan not only works to restore social justice, it makes good economic sense. Our choice is clear - we can pay now or pay later." I hoped to reference some of Statistics Canada's Documents; but I get entirely lost in their website. I'm certain there is good reference information available for your consideration (which would tie in poverty and it's relation to metropolitan areas, aboriginal people, immigration, disabilities, housing, equality, etc.). This is their homepage -- http://www.statcan.gc.ca/start-debut-eng.html Perhaps this information provided additional references for your use.