Homelessness
In Tight Times, Campbell Gov't Chooses to Help Big Banks
Inept budgeters axed $100 million yearly tax revenue from fat financial institutions. And it gets worse.It used to be said of the New Democrats (when they were in government during the 1990s), that, such was their lack of business and financial expertise, they couldn't run a lemonade stand.
Sadly, with Gordon Campbell and his BC Liberals, British Columbia today has a government whose fiscal acumen is so abysmal, so evidently lacking, that they appear incapable of operating any business enterprise of any size.
'Red Tent' Campaign Planned for Homeless during Olympics
Pivot Legal wants city to let it provide 500 tents to people sleeping on Vancouver's streets. Picture homeless people camped on downtown sidewalks. Big yawns inside bright red tents as the sun rises on another Olympics day. Early next month, Pivot Legal Society hopes to ask city council's permission to start handing out 500 collapsible shelters to Vancouver's most needy. Pivot's rights activists want to confront a city enthralled by Olympic jubilation with the reality of local poverty. And test the limits of constitutional law.
Victoria, BC Latest Transition Town
As of June 2009, the VRTI consists of a small, dedicated steering committee, and a larger, varied group of individuals interested in Transition. We welcome new members!
Greater Victoria, located at the southern tip of Vancouver Island off the west coast of Canada, has a population of about 350,000 people. The VRTI is working at both neighbourhood and city-wide levels to engage the whole community in creating a positive future.
What are we doing?
Tent Camping Homeless to Politicians: 'Face Facts!'
Published: June 16, 2009, The Tyee
That the city of Victoria and the British Columbia government are so determined to keep fighting to prevent homeless people from sheltering themselves speaks volumes, said Simon Ralph, who knows the pressure first hand.
Economics of Poverty Workshop: A Half-Day Primer on the Economics and Statistics of Poverty
Krishna Pendakur, SFU Professor of Economics, is offering an exciting half-day, free workshop on the economics and statistics of poverty:
CANADA'S QUIET BARGAIN The Benefits from Public Spending
The majority of Canadian households enjoy a higher quality of life because the public services their taxes fund come at a solid bargain, according to a new study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).
BC's Badly Broken Welfare System
BC Libs created 'overly complex' maze that kept needy off rolls: ombudsman
Published: April 13, 2009
Cornell U Study Asseses Adverse Effects of Poverty-Induced Physiological Stress on Brain Development
"Poverty Goes Straight to the Brain"
Victoria, BC Latest Transition Town
Victoria Region Transition Initiative...engaging whole communities in creating a positive future
The Victoria Region Transition Initiative (VRTI) fosters a post-carbon way of life in the Victoria area by raising awareness and building connections, supporting positive vision and action to help create more resilient, joyful communities that no longer rely on fossil fuels as their primary energy sources.
BC Housing applies for Little Mountain demolition permits
VANCOUVER - The bulldozers are coming to demolish one of Vancouver’s oldest social housing projects.
Little Mountain Housing project, built in 1954 and including homes that once housed close to 700 low-income residents, will be demolished as soon as BC Housing, which manages the site for the province, can obtain city permits.
Although only 12 of the site’s 224 units are still occupied, the news evoked strong response from critics.
