Vancouver, BC - The BC Progress Board released a discussion paper today entitled "The Social Condition in British Columbia". The paper examines the causes and costs of low income in British Columbia and provides eight suggestions for provincial and federal government consideration. The report was prepared for the Progress Board by Dr. Keith Banting, C.M., Queen's Research Chair in Public Policy at Queen's University.

"Social condition performance in BC - in particular low income incidence - has persistently lagged other provinces amidst BC's otherwise strong economic track record in recent years", stated David Black, Chair of the BC Progress Board and President of Victoria-based Black Press Ltd. "Restructuring of income support programs over the past decade has encouraged able-bodied persons to enter the labour market with noteworthy success", Black continued. "While economic and job growth has been strong in recent years, the persistence of low income incidence in our benchmarking work led the Progress Board to undertake an expert examination of the topic this year", Black noted.

The report outlines three policy imperatives that flow from federal and provincial income support programs over the past decade. These include:

• Work should pay. Governments need to extend welfare supports to low wage workers to ensure that they are better off in employment than on welfare, that they face reasonable marginal effective tax rates, and that they can meet the needs of their families through work.
  

• Educational equality should be a key priority. As governments shift people from low income support to the labour force, they acquire an even greater responsibility to help low income individuals gain the education and skills they need to participate effectively in the economic mainstream.
  

• Those who cannot be expected to work should be well supported. Even the most effective investments in education and skills will not meet the needs of those who, by reason of disabilities or other persistent barriers, cannot be expected to work. These people should receive the support needed to live in dignity.

"Employment-oriented social strategies need to ensure that those who work are better off than they would be on welfare, and that those who cannot work are able to live with dignity", Dr. Banting noted. "Children living in disadvantaged families require support at all levels of the learning ladder to ensure they have an equal chance for future success, both in school and in future employment", Dr. Banting continued.

The report presents a number of suggestions designed to make progress on all three imperatives, focusing on income support programs and investments in education at all stages of life.

• The Government of BC should support the introduction of a federal Earned Income Tax Benefit, and cooperate in the integration of its income-tested programs with the federal program.
  

• The province of BC should urge the federal government to reform its program structure to provide temporary income support for unemployed Canadians in an even-handed way across the country as a whole.
  

• BC Income Assistance benefits should be indexed to changes in the cost of living.
  

• The BC Government should give "Strong Start" itself a strong start, by rolling out a program that is based on evidence of what works, that is strongly funded, and that has a strong evaluation component. The province should also reinvest in the Child Care Subsidy Program.
  

• BC should build on the base of CommunityLinks by reversing the slow erosion of the budget in real terms, drawing on real evidence of what works and demanding a strong evaluation component of the program.
  

• The administration of related programs designed to lower the social gradient in education and development should be consolidated in an agency whose primary purpose is to enhance the development of children.
  

• The provinces should strengthen support for low income students by reinvesting in the BC Loan Reduction Program, follow up vigorously on the evaluation of the experimental bursary program, and extend support to students in one year programs.
  

• The province should respond to the recommendations concerning literacy advanced by the Premier's Advisory Panel on Literacy and the report of the BC Progress Board on education. In addition, the province should review and strengthen its support for adult basic education training to ensure that there is a "second chance" in BC.

"Focusing on the income transfer system by making work pay would help those currently struggling in low income, while targeted education investments will help ensure disadvantaged children aren't trapped in poverty", stated Tim McEwan, Executive Director of the Progress Board. "Evidence-based programming together with rigorous follow up evaluation is critically important to ensure results are achieved from any additional program spending undertaken by governments", McEwan continued.

The BC Progress Board, formed by Premier Gordon Campbell in July 2001, is an independent Panel of 18 senior business and academic leaders. The Progress Board benchmarks BC's performance on measures of economy, innovation, education, environment, health and social condition over time and relative to other jurisdictions. The Board also advises on ways to improve performance.

Contact:

Tim McEwan Executive Director B.C. Progress Board 604 775-1664