Dear Editor:
Re: Child poverty growing, Burnaby NOW, Nov. 25)
It seems like we've all been here before. Another year has gone by, and once again First Call is coming out with a report talking about how British Columbia is doing the absolute worst in the country when it comes to ending child poverty.
What is truly concerning is that the government's own reports are stating that the policies the B.C. Liberals have been following have not worked in reducing child poverty.
The progress board, created in the first year of the original Liberal government a decade ago, has issued a report of its own that states that British Columbia is 10th out of all provinces in terms of poverty reduction and the number of people currently living in poverty. There's no excuse for this; eight years of the highest levels of child poverty is simply inexcusable. What's more, the number of children who are considered in poverty has increased, not decreased.
This is due to B.C. Liberal policies. They've run out of people they can scapegoat for this tragic state of affairs. They've had the majority for a decade now and have nothing to show for their efforts, or lack thereof. The premier has said that she intends to have a "family-first" agenda while in office.
What better place to start than to ensure that the policies of her government start doing something to raise the 137,000 children in poverty up to a standard of living acceptable in a country and province that is blessed with such wealth.
Trevor Ritchie, Burnaby
