British Columbia

Food Banks Canada’s 2024 Poverty Report Card gives B.C. a D-plus.

“I would say that the grade itself is very concerning as it was last year and we were optimistic that we would see B.C. improving on that,” Dan Huang-Taylor, executive director of Food Banks BC, said. “It (the final grade) was disappointed but also unexpected because this is what we are seeing at the front lines of food banks, more people needing services, which only tells that the situation of many British Columbians has gotten worse.”

The provincial poverty rate of 11.6 per cent is “substantially higher” than the national average of 9.9 per cent, according to the report. More British Columbians are also experiencing some form of food insecurity in the face of rising costs for necessities like housing coupled with inadequate assistance rates.

Huang-Taylor said B.C.’s poverty rates partly reflect economic factors completely out of its control. “But we are also certainly looking at government policies that are currently inadequate to meet the needs of people, particularly those who are most impacted by poverty — people on fixed incomes, racialized communities and Indigenous peoples.”

Huang-Taylor said solutions must involve all societal partners: all levels of government; non-profits and corporations, adding that his organization looks forward to the upcoming release of B.C. poverty reduction strategy.

“We are encouraged by what’s happening in B.C. with housing,” Huang-Taylor said, adding more needs to be done to adequately house hundreds of thousands of people.

The Poverty Report Canada gives B.C. a B for government efforts to address some poverty issues, especially when it comes to housing.