You would have to fill Swangard Stadium more than twice to account for the number of working poor in Burnaby. Those are the numbers from a new study trying to shed light on the growing problem in Metro Vancouver and recommending action to deal with the issue.
The study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives found the number of working poor has increased between 2006 and 2012 across the region.
However, in Burnaby, the number of working poor over the same time period remained flat, dipping to 9.4 per cent in 2012 from 9.6 per cent in 2006.
But at 9.4 per cent, the working poverty rate is still fourth highest in the region behind Richmond, Vancouver and Greater Vancouver Electoral Area A. The study estimates there are 11,110 working poor individuals living in Burnaby.
The study’s author, Iglika Ivanova, said governments and business leaders often claim the way to deal with poverty is to create more jobs, but she suggested the number of people working but not able to lift out of poverty means the economic system isn’t working.
“We have a problem when working is no longer a guaranteed path out of poverty,” she told the NOW.
In Burnaby, 60 per cent of the working poor are aged 30 to 54, and 43 per cent have children. A breakdown shows the largest number of working poor are in the South Burnaby and Metrotown area of the city.
The median individual income (before tax) of Metro Vancouver’s working poor was $15,040 in 2012.
Ivanova also argued the growing rate of working poor is creating problems for the future, while a lot of money is being spent dealing with the consequences of poverty, in places like health care and policing.
The report calls for the development of a comprehensive poverty reduction plan for B.C. including a higher minimum wage, stronger employment standards, increased affordable housing, creation of a $10/day child-care program and more access to education and training for low-income earners.
But Ivanova said the biggest thing is to recognize that the growing number of working poor is a problem, and the various levels of government need to work together.
Burnaby’s numbers pretty much mirrored the rest of the region.
The study found 61 per cent of Metro Vancouver residents who are stuck below the poverty line despite having a job are 30 to 54 years of age. Just over half of the working poor are married or living common law, and 42 per cent have dependent children.
Among Canadian cities, Metro Vancouver has the second highest rate of working poverty at 8.7 per cent of the working-age population, after Greater Toronto at 9.1 per cent.
There are an estimated 106,000 people in Metro Vancouver in working poverty.
