Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The Strathcona Regional District (SRD) received a $147,700 grant from the Union of BC Municipalities to prepare a region-wide poverty reduction plan. They will be holding meetings in Campbell River, Tahsis, Gold River, Cortes Island, Quadra Island and Zeballos at the end of the month. 
 “Our plans are only as good as the information we receive and we really, really want to be able to address poverty in a holistic, honest and earnest way. We can't do that without the community. So we really need you guys to come out and to talk to us. Give us your thoughts, all of your ideas, your criticisms, your comments,  your questions. Whatever you need us to know, because all of that feeds into the plan, and it makes it more robust, and just everything we do is going to help alleviate poverty in the region as a whole,” explained Meredith Starkey, Manager of Parks and Planning at the SRD.” 
 “Are you struggling to have your basic needs met? Then how can we help alleviate that pressure? What are the barriers that you're experiencing, and how can we mitigate that experience?”
 The SRD will be in our area on Wednesday, February 28, 2024.
 “We are coming to Quadra and Cortes on the same day. We'll be at Manson's Hall at 11am to 1pm. Then we head off to the Quadra Island Community Centre.  We'll be there from 3 to 6 and then back to Campbell River.” 
 “We’re developing an action plan and strategies that can actually be applied to minimize poverty in our communities. It's focused on 8 priority areas:  
Housing, 
Education and training, 
Employment,
Safe and affordable transportation, 
Families, children and youth, 
Income supports, 
Social support, 
And discrimination and stigma.”  

“We have a whole bunch of data. We did the housing needs reports. We've done transportation studies. We have lots of data and statistics about poverty, and we understand the intersections of what contributes to poverty in different areas of the region.”
 “We know that it's different in rural areas and urban areas. We also know that the experience of poverty on Cortes is going to be different from the experience of poverty in Campbell River.  What we're looking for from the community to do is to  flush that data out and make it real and to let us know more specifically what that experience of poverty might mean for a person on Cortes.”

 “We often hear that we're trying to bring Campbell River solutions into Cortes or something. That's not really our intent. It never is, but if we don't hear from people what is really needed, then it's hard for us to implement those things. When we hear from you,  that helps us deliver things that you need.”

Cortes Currents

Coming to Cortes & Quadra: a Poverty Reduction Plan for the SRD

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents -  One of the most controversial ideas being considered in the SRD’s Poverty Reduction Plan is advocating for a Universal Basic Income (UBI). There are numerous examples showing this is an effective way to riase people out of poverty. The problem is too much of the financial impact may fall on the diminishing middle class ($50,000-$135,000 per anno in BC) rather than the rich who appear to be increasingly growing richer.    

Many Cortes Island residents would benefit from a Universal Basic Income. The recent Housing Needs Report states that our median wage was about $15,000 lower than the District’s norm.(1)  According to data from the 2021 census, only 27% of the labour force have full time employment. The remainder work part time.(2) 

Quadra Island is only marginally better off than Cortes. The median wage was $14,000 lower than the District’s norm and 36% of the labour force had full time jobs.(3)

Both islands also have residents whose take-home income would most likely shrink if a Universal Basic Income were introduced. (Someone has to pay the taxes needed to support such a system!)

Corttes Currents

Can A Universal Basic Income work in the SRD?

Cortes Currents is a news platform that asks what's current in Cortes and the Discovery Islands. Web articles & radio podcasts: Cortes Island, Quadra Island, Discovery Islands, Campbell River: news, lifestyle, local politics, affordable housing, economy, food security, health, ferries, tourism, history,  culture, environmental issues, sustainable forestry, oyster farming, the arts, First Nations, energy, climate change, overshoot

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