How is it possible that the "best place on Earth" is also the worst province in Canada for child poverty five years in a row?
How is it possible that Premier Gordon Campbell can give out thousands of gold medals with his own name arrogantly stamped across the face to construction workers on multimillion-dollar provincial projects while one in five children live in deprivation?
And how is it possible that a government spends millions on feel- good television ads about how wonderful this province is, while thousands of homeless walk the streets?
Welcome to British Columbia, where medals are given out to mystified workers by an oblivious premier who ignores the obvious despair in every city.
On Friday, two stories made the news - contradictory stories that deserved to be connected.
The first, a devastating report that found B.C.'s child poverty rate is 21.9 per cent, the highest rate in Canada for the fifth year in a row.
The second, a provincial program uncovered by the New Democratic Party opposition where more than 2,000 gold medals worth about $15 each and inscribed "Presented by Premier Gordon Campbell" are being given to construction workers on infrastructure projects.
The child poverty report from First Call, Campaign 2000 and the Social Planning and Research Council showed that in 2006, the most recent year with statistics available, there were an estimated 181,000 poor children in B.C.
That's more than the combined total populations of Nan-aimo, Prince George and Cranbrook.
And B.C. is the only province with a higher child poverty rate in 2006 than in 1997, even though federal and provincial child benefits have increased.
Astonishingly, the richest families with children had an income of $201,490 in 2006, an increase of $47,591 since 1989, while the poorest families with kids actually saw their income drop during the same period, to $15,657 from $16,966.
Then there's the government's self-promotional ad campaigns - which the B.C. Liberals steadfastly refuse to release the budget for but can safely be estimated to cost millions.
That money could be put to far better use finding a warm, safe bed for the 40,000 people who were turned away from shelters in Metro Vancouver between April and December of 2007 - because there was no room for them.
A staggering 16,000 of the turnaways were women and children who could not be accommodated at the region's 36 shelters.
It is a dark shadow indeed that has been cast on a premier who gives out gold medals in his own name while letting kids go hungry on the streets of our province, which he ironically pays to advertise as "the best place on Earth."
Bill Tieleman writes for 24 Hours.
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frances
3 years ago
Bill Tieleman
Great stuff, Bill. You have put into a nutshell everything that stinks about our provincial government. This should be in the headlines but good luck with that.
SharingIsGood
3 years ago
Thanks Bill
I truly hope this message gets out to everyone. Truly I hope that big media will do their job and publish this on the front page and demand that Campbell speaks to this.
Sadly, we know that this news is some of the visable bit of the Campbell iceberg that has been laying the hull of BC bare for CEOs and big corporations to plunder.
Under Campbell we have had years and years of record prices for BC commodities, yet we have this homelessness and poverty. We also owe unmentioned billions to P3s. We will continue to owe that money long after Campbelll is gone - even though he doesn't list it as debt.
Luke Skywalker
3 years ago
Child Poverty...
Of course child poverty in BC is abysmal and that's tragic.
But since everyone seems to play politics here:
Bill, the BC figure is NOT 21.9% according to the report:
http://www.campaign2000.ca/rc/C2000%20Report%20Card%20FINAL%20Nov%2010th08.pdf
Here are some figures on child poverty in Canada in 2006:
BC - 16.1% (Liberal government)
SK - 14.4% (NDP government)
MB - 12.4% (NDP government)
(The three highest provinces in Canada)
AB - 6.9% (Conservative government)
So BC and the two prairie NDP governments had relatively similar child poverty figures.
Alberta had the lowest child poverty figure in Canada (aside from PEI).
So does that mean BC should elect a right-wing Conservative government, similar to that of Alberta, in order to eradicate child poverty in BC?
egmont rapids
3 years ago
Luke,your nose is growing again
Bill Teilman is right,first call BC is right---22% child poverty in BC--The highest rate in Canada for the 6th year in a row!
the national rate is 15% --that number in itself has been dragged upwards by BCs pathetic performance.
Gordon Campbell/Coleman should walk around with paper bags on their heads to hide their shame!
Here is the link to the report,the report that Luke and the BC Liberals are in complete denial about!
http://www.firstcallbc.org/pdfs/economicequality/3-reportcard-b&w.pdf
Arrogant,outta touch,corrupt,deniers,Gordon Campbell and the BC Liberals are blight on society,period!
Luke Skywalker
3 years ago
I See What's Going On Here...
The two reports are the same, the first report was based upon "after"-tax figures [likely a better weather vein] and the poster "egmont rapids" listed a report based upon "before"-tax figures.
OK then let's look at "before"-tax figures:
Here are some figures on child poverty in Canada in 2006:
BC - 21.9% (Liberal government)
SK - 19.9% (NDP government)
MB - 18.7% (NDP government)
(The three highest provinces in Canada)
AB - 10.5% (Conservative government)
I will again re-iterate my earlier musings....so BC and the two prairie NDP governments had relatively similar child poverty figures.
Alberta had the lowest child poverty figure in Canada.
So does that mean BC should elect a right-wing Conservative government, similar to that of Alberta, in order to eradicate child poverty in BC?
Frank
3 years ago
Alberta
We did elect a gov't just as right-wing as the Alberta Tories.
As for the prairies, remove the huge native populations from the calculation and they'll look a lot better. After all, Native Affairs is federal.
Frank
3 years ago
Kleins and Campbells, oh my
The only difference between Alberta Tories and BC Liberals is the Alberta Tories have more oil.
Luke Skywalker
3 years ago
Ummmmm Frank...
Under the "evil" right-wing Socreds in 1989, the BC child poverty rate was 14.2%.
During the 1990's, that BC child poverty rate climbed to 19.5% in 1997 under the NDP.
Today, it's 21.9% and yes that's abysmal.
As for BC First Nations child poverty, children, under the age of 6, living off reserves had a poverty rate of 40% in BC.
And yes BC does have a substantial First Nations population.
So you are now saying that's just a "federal problem"?
Sometimes I just don't understand you guys!
Frank
3 years ago
??
I'm saying either don't compare apples and oranges or make allowances that you're not comparing exactly the same thing.
As you said, child poverty in BC has increased under the Campbell gov't in spite of the economy of 2006 supposedly being much better than the economy of 1997. And in spite of increased federal transfers.
Frank
3 years ago
The question is why?
So why is it that BC has the highest poverty rate in Canada?
What is there peculiar to BC that would explain this?
I for one think the answer if that Campbell simply doesn't care about stats like child poverty. Its just a stat he would prefer to black out, like FOI requests for information about child abuse in this province.
Raphael Alexander
3 years ago
Missing an important point
Luke,
"So does that mean BC should elect a right-wing Conservative government, similar to that of Alberta, in order to eradicate child poverty in BC?"
Well said.
Bill Tieleman,
I am repeating what I wrote on my own blog [http://tinyurl.com/5z7azy], but what Mr.Tieleman does not mention is the fact that the construction workers receiving this hokey medallion are very likely the people who are under the LICO or very close to it. Many are from Surrey, Richmond, Langley, and can't afford a house in the city they are working in to help build the Olympics. They work for anywhere from under $20 to over $30 an hour, but it's certainly not Liberal Deputy Minister pay.
The Olympics have been a grotesque waste of taxpayer money, but the upside is that the jobs provided have actually been a boon to construction workers who would otherwise be on the dole and their kids would be that much poorer. Something to think about.
Frank
3 years ago
Olympics?
I wonder how the other 9 provinces are able to maintain lower rates of child poverty without having any Olympics?
I wonder how the NDP even in its worst year (1997) was able to maintain a child poverty rate lower than the Libs in their best year and with Olympic construction going on to boot?
I wonder how the NDP was able to maintain lower child poverty rates in this province at a time when Paul Martin was making cuts to provincial transfers in order to slay the federal deficit while under Campbell child poverty rose to the worst in Canada in spite of Martin and Harper shovelling money to BC off the back of a truck?
I wonder how it is we can afford to pay people to phone radio shows and post on websites in support of the gov't and hand people gold medals that honour the premier (its only his name on them) while having the worst child poverty numbers in Canada?
Perhaps the other 9 provinces must be doing something we're not.
Frank
3 years ago
Luke
"Today, it's 21.9% and yes that's abysma"
But not abysmal enough for you or Raphael to vote anything but Liberal. Because when the rubber hits the road neither of you care a whit.
As Raphael says on his blog, the Liberals may be the worst in Canada but voting for a party with a better record isn't a solution in his world.
Raphael Alexander
3 years ago
Not exactly
I didn't say I wouldn't vote NDP. I said that until they were offering more than the same platform of the Liberals, except with more spending promises and axing the carbon tax, there's little reason to switch to a less fiscally responsible government.
Frank
3 years ago
Raphael
The NDP record is more fiscally responsible than the Liberal one unless you don't believe in a thing called "contractural obligations".
StatsCan says NDP governments in Canada are far more fiscally responsible than the Cons or Libs too but then that's only StatsCan.
And as Luke points out the NDP in their worst year (1997) economically also had lower rates of child poverty than the Liberals when the economy is supposedly roaring.
Seems to me that would be worth voting for, but others seem to think not.
BC Dude
3 years ago
Poverty
Child poverty in BC is what I'd call Genocide, poor diet will effect kids health all their lives, Gordo is a heartless arrogant coward who has stooped to new lows as he gets ready for his new role in some corporate board room just like Emerson, as he is now the new executive chairman of the British Columbia Transmission Corp.
The biggest corruption bust in the history of BC, the Dec 28 2003 BC Legislature raid 5 years ago. Why has it been delayed year after year? Is Gordo or/and his thugs behind these delays along w/the RCMP who are also implicated in interfering with this huge organized corruption and injustice to US, the people of BC?
Gordo and our so-called justice system seem to be waiting for April 01, 09 the day Gordo's TILMA is to become law?
Google TILMA it's the insane corporate take over of our democracy thanks to Our elected traitors in federal and provincial politics.
Where is our corporate media in all these major scandals?
The CRTC is supposed to be the people’s media watchdog, what a despicable corrupt public organization for allowing the Asper corporation(Cannedwaste) CanWest to own 96% of all media in Western Canada, in other words we get crap for news!
An ex 1:
Province paper full colour front page ““Oodles of Poodles” about a dog with 9 pups, so where does garbage like this become news?