Delays slow BC government’s promised poverty reduction plan, says minister
VICTORIA (NEWS 1130) – There’s been a hiccup in the timing of the British Columbia government’s plans to introduce its promised poverty reduction plan.
Poverty Reduction Minister Shane Simpson announced plans last year to table legislation this spring that includes targets and timelines to cut poverty, but that has now been delayed to the fall.
Simpson says the New Democrats and the 27-member government-appointed advisory panel holding public meetings across B.C. need more time to put together the plan.
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He says he decided to delay rather than rush in legislation in the coming weeks.
Last fall, Simpson said B.C. has the highest poverty rate in Canada with an estimated 678,000 people living in poverty, including 118,000 children.
The minister has said that the province is planning to introduce a pilot program that would give some residents a basic income as part of its plan to fight poverty.
