B.C. Implementing Changes To Help People Out Of Poverty

The Province is making changes to three laws to better help people get out of poverty.

It is setting new 10-year targets to reduce overall poverty and child poverty and is introducing a new target to reduce seniors’ poverty.

“We know people in B.C. are facing big challenges, so we are setting new, ambitious poverty-reduction targets, to better help people, including seniors, get through tough times,” said Sheila Malcolmson, Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction.

“People say they feel better – and are better off – when they have a job and community connections, so we are also reducing barriers for those who can work, while continuing to support those who cannot.”

Another change reduces barriers for people receiving income assistance or disability assistance, improving their access to support and employment.

B.C.’s 2018 Poverty Reduction Strategy Act is being amended to commit the Province to reduce overall poverty by 60%, child poverty by 75% and seniors’ poverty by 50% (from 2016 levels), over the next 10 years.

Actions and investments that will help the government reach these goals will be included in B.C.’s new Poverty Reduction Strategy, which will be released in spring 2024.

There will also be changes to employment requirements for people on income assistance and disability assistance to better support them to find and keep a job.

The changes are intended to help develop a new employment approach where people will be assessed after they start receiving assistance to determine what supports they need to work towards employment.

The Province is also bringing its legislation in alignment with its commitments under the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, to “incorporate Indigenous experience and knowledge of poverty and well-being into ongoing poverty reduction efforts and the 2024 Poverty Reduction Strategy.”

The Province says the measures in the bill incorporate feedback from more than 10,000 people, 70% of them with lived experience of poverty, gathered during B.C.’s public consultation last year.

To learn more, visit Government of British Columbia.