Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

Major Public Forum: We are expecting representatives from all political parties with over 1000 members of the public attending this event.

The topic: Homelessness! What’s happened? What’s next? The number of homeless in Vancouver keeps rising! Learn about innovations in Vancouver!

Hear from Steve Snyder and Tim Richter! (Calgary’s Committee to End Homelessness www.endinghomelessness.ca)

• May 22, 2008 at 7pm (doors open 6:30)
• St. Andrew’s-Wesley United Church
• Nelson & Burrard, Vancouver
• (free underground parking from alley)

For more information call: 604-683-4574

via email

The fight against poverty requires justice and equality for women. Around the world, women and girls are more likely to face violence, have fewer rights and receive less education than men. And because women are often denied fair compensation for their work, poverty rates among women are much higher.

Gender equality is a key part of making poverty history. Policies that promote the health, education and rights of women make huge contributions towards alleviating poverty. Any serious attempt to eradicate poverty must work towards gender equality. That’s why to “promote gender equality and empower women” is one of the eight Millenium Development Goals.

So we are asking you to participate in International Women’s Day, this Saturday, March 8, in whatever way you can: learn more about the issues, tell your friends about the day, attend an event or take action online.

Learn more

Make Poverty History is part of a coalition of groups called the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) See the GCAP International Women’s Day video on YouTube. Read GCAP’s page on the importance of gender equality here

Send and ecard to your friends or attend an event

Remind your friends of the importance of March 8th by sending them an e-card from www.makepovertyhistory.ca.

Make Poverty History volunteers will be at Women’s Day events across the country this Saturday - why don’t you join them? See events on March 8 here.

Goal is to collect 5,000 pairs by February 14.

Socks can be delivered to:
VDLC office, 20 - 1880 Triumph Street, Vancouver
Reclaiming Our Spirit, 3985 Dumfries, Vancouver

Labour of Love Fundraising Luncheon:
February 14, Thursday, Simon Baker Aboriginal Friendship Centre, 1607 East Hastings

Message from Reclaiming our Spirit:

Hello everyone, homelessness has a thousand faces.  The reasons people are homeless are many and varied.  Many of the homeless have become disconnected from their families and communities.  A broad base of understanding is required to create and build programs and services that will work towards providing support for each and every person who faces homelessness.  Homelessness can affect people of any age, gender or ethnic background, it does not discriminate.  It is that time of year again and Reclaiming Our Spirit will be conducting our 3rd Annual Sock Drive for the Homeless.  We are seeking your support to make this a successful fundraiser.  If you have any questions please do not hesitate to call our office. 

Also as a part of this important community event we will be having our First Annual Labour of Love Fundraising Luncheon at the Chief Simon Baker Room February 14, 2008 at 1607 East Hastings street from 12:00 noon -2:00 pm. All proceeds from this luncheon will go towards the Labour of Love Sock Drive.   All support is appreciated.

I want to share with you our latest effort in the Campaign to increase BC’s minimum wage and win a long overdue pay raise for 250,000 low paid workers.

$10 NOW: BC Workers Need a Raise is a short video piece where working people talk about why our minimum wage needs to be increased. It’s just been posted on You Tube, and you can watch it now …

Please let your friends and family know about the video and share it with them.

Thanks to the thousands of people who’ve taken part in our 10 for $10 challenge in October. We generated more than 10,000 new signatures on our petition in the lead up to the November 1st anniversary of the last time B.C.’s minimum was boosted in 2001. Now 50,000 British Columbians have signed on to show their support for a $10 minimum wage.

I also want to give you my commitment that the B.C. Federation of Labour Campaign will continue until the minimum wage is increased and tens of thousands of workers are brought up to the poverty line.

Keep up the fight!

Jim Sinclair, President, B.C. Federation of Labour

via BCFed

In conjunction with the PSAC Leadership Training Conference taking place this week in downtown Vancouver, come and take part in the next petitioning event for the B.C. Federation of Labour’s $10 NOW campaign Sat. Oct. 20th.

• Saturday, Oct. 20, 9:45 am to 12 noon
• meet at the Port of the World room, Renaissance Hotel, 1133 W. Hastings, Vancouver then;
• disperse to solicit signatures in downtown Vancouver

It’s an important event because the BC Fed is trying to get as many petition signatures as possible before Nov. 1 - the sixth anniversary of the last time B.C.’s minimum wage was increased. The event is being organized in conjunction with our leadership training conference and is designed to link PSAC leaders with activists who’ve been part of the minimum wage campaign and share skills.

The PSAC will host a lunch for all volunteers back at the Renaissance Hotel, and the BCFed will have a premium for all those who take part. If you’re interested please contact Stephen Howard at the B.C. Federation of Labour, 604-430-1421 or cell 604-220-2965.

On October 17, 2007 — The United Nations Day for the Eradication of Poverty — join millions around the world as they STAND UP and SPEAK OUT to Make Poverty History. STAND UP is an innovative and exciting challenge issued by the Global Call to Action Against Poverty and the United Nations Millennium Campaign.

Last year, 23.5 million people worldwide, including 49,000 Canadians, stood up against poverty in a 24 hour period, setting a Guinness World Record.

Show your support for the global fight against poverty and let world leaders know that we are holding them accountable for their promises to end poverty by 2015.

What qualifies as a STAND UP event?

A STAND UP event can be almost anything - a concert, vigil, picnic. It can take place anywhere: at work, in the streets, at the family dinner table, or classroom. The only requirement is that there must be a time when everyone reads a poverty pledge and STANDS UP for 1 minute to be counted for the Guinness World Record.

What are PSAC members doing?

On October 16 and 17, PSAC members will be joining people around the world by standing up and speaking out at their own events. To be counted, events in BC must take place between October 16 at 2:00 p.m. and October 17 at 2:00 p.m. To be included in the Stand Up and Speak Out count, please e-mail the following information to Janet St. Jean (stjeanj@psac-afpc.com) at PSAC’s Social Justice Fund no later than 8:00 p.m. (EST) on October 17.

• Your Local/Branch
• Date, time and location of your event
• Number of people counted and;
• Contact information

Note: members are encouraged to participate in the count by raising their hand if standing up is not possible.

Download the … (all .pdf)

• Stand up and speak out against poverty instructions for PSAC members
• Stand up and speak out against poverty poster
• Stand up and speak out against poverty info. flyer

For more information contact the Vancouver Regional Office.

How else can I get involved?

There are several other ways that you can be part of STAND UP and SPEAK OUT to Make Poverty History.

• Organize your own STAND UP and SPEAK OUT to Make Poverty History event. Check out our creative ideas.
• Insert a STAND UP and SPEAK OUT to Make Poverty History moment into an existing event or gathering — a sporting match, workplace lunchroom, a classroom, conference, or a movie theatre.
• Attend a STAND UP and SPEAK OUT to Make Poverty History Action organized by others in your community. Click to see what’s happening across Canada.
• Register your Stand Up Event and report your numbers after the event at standagainstpoverty.org/events/create

For more information visit: makepovertyhistory.ca/stand-up

PSAC member Be Gomes and the Terrace District Labour council successfully lobbies Terrace City Council to support the $10 minimum wage campaign.

source: The Terrace Standard.

TO ENSURE a healthy local economy and people’s survival, B.C.’S minimum wage must be raised to $10 an hour, according to a representative of the local labour council.

“Terrace is a perfect example,” Kitimat-Terrace & District Labour Council spokesperson Be Gomes says. Gomes attributes various job vacancies around town to potential workers not bothering to apply because of low wages.

“People can not afford to live off $8 an hour,” she said.

B.C.’s general minimum wage is $8 an hour though employees with little or no are categorized differently. The minimum wage for their first 500 hours of work is $6 an hour.

Gomes said many workers are also exhausted just trying to make ends meet. Her own daughter works two jobs a day for a total of 13.5 hours and is taking a year off school to save money. She was initially excited to be making money but quickly realized the minimum wage didn’t go far, Gomes said.

Gomes solicited the Terrace city council’s support for a minimum wage increase Sept. 10.

(more…)

Dear Make Poverty History supporters,

I am writing to ask for your help in getting the Senate to pass Bill C-293 - the “Better Aid Bill”. Make Poverty History supports Bill C-293 as part of its call for not just more, but better aid. Bill C-293 would require Canadian foreign aid to contribute to poverty reduction; take into account the perspectives of the poor; and be consistent with Canada’s international human rights obligations.

The Senate will be recessing in June for the summer. We need to get Bill C-293 passed by the Senate before the summer break. Send an e-mail to the Senate leadership and let them know that you want them to act now to help make poverty history.

Gerry Barr, Make Poverty History co-chair

People living with HIV/AIDS and other life threatening conditions cannot wait any longer for affordable, generic versions of life-saving drugs. It is time to fix Canada’s Access to Medicines Regime.

Three years ago, Canada was a clear leader on the international stage when it passed a law intended to make essential, generic medicines available, in low- and middle-income countries where there is no generic manufacturing industry.

Unfortunately, the law does not work. Since the legislation passed 2004, not a single pill has left Canada. The drug order process is taking far too much time and effort to be effective.

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By Dennis Howlett, Coordinator, Make Poverty History

There is little or nothing in the 2007 Federal Budget that will help to make poverty history.

Several measures that appear to address poverty, on closer examination turn out to be inferior versions of previous Liberal initiatives or actually deliver more benefit to rich families and less or nothing to poor children who need assistance the most.

A case in point is the Child Tax /Credit/ announced in this Conservative budget, which should not be confused with the Canada Child Tax /Benefit/ that Make Poverty History has been campaigning to have increased to $5100 per child. The Conservative Child Tax /Credit/ will do absolutely nothing for the poorest children whose families have no taxable income.

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Dear PSAC Members:

Please join the campaign to raise the minimum wage! The lowest paid workers in BC need our support.

I’m asking you to support the campaign to boost the minimum wage in BC to at least $10 an hour and to eliminate the $6 ”training rate” for new workers (AKA another subsidy for big business.).

The Campbell government has frozen the minimum wage at $8 since November 2001. The labour movement says five years without a raise is too long. Minimum-waged workers in BC cannot live on their wages. We’re calling for an immediate increase to at least $10, closely followed by regular future increases that are tied to cost of living increases.

A minimum wage of at least $10 would benefit 115,000 workers who earn the minimum, plus another 135,000 workers who make less than $10 per hour.

Please click on the following link to go to the B.C. Federation of Labour campaign site and join thousands of people by signing the $10 NOW petition.

Please forward this link to friends and family who also support the call to raise the minimum wage. Thank you.

In solidarity, Kay Sinclair, Regional Executive Vice-President, BC

Come out and help with this $10 minimum wage campaign event and see a Giants hockey game.

• Where and when: Pacific Coliseum, Friday, April 27th at 6 p.m.

The B.C. Fed Young Workers Committee are going to distribute the $10 NOW Campaign material and gather signatures on a peition at the Pacific Coliseum. Unions are being asked to help out with this important campaign.  People will be meeting at the main entrance to the Pacific Coliseum starting at 6 p.m. before the Giants game at 7:30.

Anyone who helps with the petition blitz will be given a ticket to the Giants playoff game against the Prince George Cougars (popcorn not included.)

via email

Dear Make Poverty History supporters:

Your support has helped us move forward on our Better Aid and Ending Child Poverty goals. But we were disappointed that the Conservative Government did not keep their promises to increase aid in the Federal Budget.

• Visit the Victoria Street Newz (one of the projects the PSAC Social Justice Fund is supporting) to see how they are helping Make Poverty History in BC.

Better Aid Bill Passes Final Vote in the House of Commons

The Better Aid Bill (Bill C-293) moved an important step closer to becoming law on March 28, when it was passed by the House of Commons 166 to 121. The Liberals, New Democrats and Bloc Québecois voted in favour of the legislation. Only one Conservative Member of Parliament, Brian Pallister, voted in favour of the motion.

The Better Aid Bill, a private member’s bill sponsored by Liberal MP John McKay, will ensure that official development assistance funds are directed to poverty reduction while respecting human rights obligations.

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Canada’s gap between rich and poor is growing, during the best of economic times, at a time when it should be shrinking.

That’s the conclusion of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternative’s new report, The Rich and The Rest of Us: The Changing Face of Canada’s Growing Gap by economist Armine Yalnizyan. The richest 10% of families raising children now make 82 times more than the poorest 10% — that’s almost triple what they made a generation ago.

And here’s the thing. The gap is no longer just about the poor being left behind.

• Do you wonder if your family is doing better or worse financially compared to other Canadian families? Visit www.growinggap.ca for the answer.

The majority of families are working more, helping to grow the economy. They’re playing by all the rules, but they’re not getting the payback. 80% of families are running harder to stay in place - and half are falling behind.

The richest 10% are getting the lion’s share of economic growth. Their earnings grew by 30% while most families saw their incomes rise slightly, stay in place, or drop. The richest 10% are literally breaking away from the rest of us.

To read the report, visit www.growinggap.ca or www.policyalternatives.ca.

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The Make Poverty History campaign platform includes the goal to end child poverty in Canada. Specifically it calls for more money for low-income families, affordable housing and the creation of decent jobs, with a higher minimum wage and universal, affordable early learning and child care.

British Columbia has the highest rate of child poverty in Canada. One in four BC children is growing up poor. Homelessness has doubled between 2002 and 2005. The $8 an hour minimum wage leaves even an individual working full time well below the poverty line. Someone working at the starting wage of $6 an hour earns only about 60% of the poverty line.

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A coalition of 22 social advocacy groups has appealed to the B.C. Liberal government to raise welfare rates and the minimum wage, and to eliminate the $6-an-hour “training wage” in the next budget later this month.

The Raise the Rates Coalition wants the shelter and support parts of income assistance boosted by at least 50 per cent, and wants the government to make it easier to qualify for welfare.

• Read more background information and sign the petition at the BC Federation of Labour website.

The groups have also repeated the call to boost the minimum wage from $8 to $10 an hour.The groups have sent an open letter to the premier saying the present environment keeps thousands of young people and families in B.C. in perpetual poverty.

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It’s time to raise the province’s $8 per hour minimum wage and eliminate the even lower $6 an hour training wage for new entrants to the labour force, says the B.C. Federation of Labour.

President Jim Sinclair wants the government to boost the base wage to $10 an hour.

“It’s time to share the gains of a strong economy,” he said.

Sinclair said a poll conducted last fall shows nearly 80 per cent of those surveyed support a $2 jump in the minimum wage, and 73.5 per cent agree it’s time to eliminate the training wage.

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The PSAC Social Justice Fund continues to be extremely involved in the global campaign for the eradication of poverty, Make Poverty History.

Here’s an exciting opportunity to get involved in the Canadian Make Poverty History campaign, and hear some great music at the same time!

Billy Talent, the Canadian alternative rock/punk band, is coming to the following cities, with supporting acts Rise Against, Anti-Flag and Moneen:
(These are the B.C. dates only.)

• January 18 - Victoria, BC
• January 19 - Vancouver, BC
• January 21 - Kelowna, BC

As supporters of the Make Poverty History campaign, Billy Talent wants to engage music fans in the fight for the eradication of poverty. We are seeking volunteers to attend the concerts, provide information on the campaign, and solicit signatures of support.

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It has been three months since the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto and the Government of Canada has yet to announce its plans to combat the pandemic.

On August 18th, the day the conference closed, Health Minister Tony Clement promised the Government would act. He said: “Is there more to do? Yes there is and we’ll be announcing that in the near future.”

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Victoria:

• Housing For All Rally & BBQ
• Monday October 23, 12 noon
• Victoria Conference Centre, 740 Douglas Street
• Banners & noisemakers welcome

Vancouver:

• Condemned: A work in progress - Downdown EastSide Opera
• October 27, 28, 8PM October 29 3PM
• Carnegie Theatre, Main @ Hastings
• Tickets available @ Carnegie Centre 604.655.2220