Sunday, November 26, 2006

Richmond: Island City by Nature

I picture a Richmond of the future that is far different from the one we have today. Affordable housing, poverty, and food security are still issues but we have taken real steps to deal with them.

Just like we will not allow a development to proceed unless there is adequate parking in Richmond no development proceeds unless it provides the necessary affordable housing. Property values are kept in check by the large stock of cooperative housing whose fees are immune from changing property values. As a community we no longer accept that our destitute will migrate to other communities which provide greater services.

Poverty unfortunaely still exists but we work hard to soften its pain. Simple Living circles begin the long process away from a consumption society and remove many of the stigma's of today's poverty. Sports and community programs are designed to ensure that money is not an obstacle to participation. Training and support is easily available to help people become self sufficient.

We celebrate our agricultural capabilities. The Garden City Lands are turned into a signature piece of urban agriculture. Small acreages are rented out to specialty farming often serving our diverse ethnic culture. It's community gardens flourish a short walk away from our population centre. Kwantlen and UBC both operate agricultural programs. A retail garden centre and organic restaurant capitalize on the agro-tourism that naturally comes. Richmond Food Bank moves to site and adopts a new focus. Teaching the whole community the values of a healthy diet, and the value of using local produce. People in need still turn to it for help, but for many that help is provided by showing them how they can grow their own food.

What kind of future do you see?

Friday, November 24, 2006

2006 Children in Poverty Report Card

"British Columbia remains the province with the highest child poverty rate at 23.5%. There are too many working poor families in BC who are unable to get jobs with sufficient pay, hours and benefits to lift them above the poverty line."

The 6 page report released today - "Oh Canada, Too Many Children in Poverty Too Long, 2006 Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Canada" can be viewed at:

http://www.campaign2000.ca/rc/rc06/06_C2000NationalReportCard.pdf

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Keep an eye on the news feeds

I just want to draw your attention to the sidebar on the right side under our mission statement. These are links from Google news stories, using "poverty" and "BC" as search words. They are updated automatically - sometimes they change frequently but often they don't - depends what's in the news! For instance, once the Report on Child Poverty is released this Friday, there will probably be numerous similar articles about the report showing up there shortly afterwards.

Right now there is an interesting article on welfare rates by Robert Hart for the Terrace Standard, entitled "Policy shouldn't create Poverty". Unfortunately you can only see "guest comment" in the link in the sidebar as it only seems to show the first line of the article. They're worth browsing if you have some time and want to see how other communities are dealing with poverty issues.

2006 Report Card on Child Poverty in Canada

fyi
Media Advisory - 2006 Report Card on Child Poverty in Canada to be released Friday, Nov 24 TORONTO, Nov. 22 /CNW/ - National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Phil Fontaine, will join Laurel Rothman, Campaign 2000 National Coordinator, to release the report 'Oh Canada! Too Many Children in Poverty for Too Long.' Campaign 2000's annual Report Card on Child Poverty presents the latest statistics on child and family poverty, including disturbing information on poverty among First Nations children.

Oh Canada! Too Many Children in Poverty for Too Long will be released Friday, November 24, at 10:00 a.m. at the Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre, 439 Dundas St. East

Monday, November 20, 2006

Welcome!

Welcome to the Richmond Poverty Response Committee's Blogspot!
More to come!