The Richmond Poverty Response Committee wants city council to take steps that are accountable, bold and comprehensive to reduce poverty in the city - they have dubbed it the ABC Plan.
De Whalen, chair of the committee was at council on Dec. 10 with Theresa Head and a larger delegation to present their plan and appeal to council to take steps available to municipalities to reduce the number of people living below the poverty line.
Their presentation called on the city of Richmond to endorse the coalition’s ABC Plan, which stands for accountable, bold and comprehensive, and to lobby the provincial government to implement a poverty reduction strategy that includes the main issues identified in their plan.
There are steps that municipalities can take to reduce poverty, Whalen told the Richmond News, for example, with changes to the municipal act, cities can now zone rental-only areas and this is something Whalen would like to see Richmond make into a local bylaw and use in areas like the Richmond Centre redevelopment.
“We don’t need more million-dollar condos,” Whalen said. “What we need is some rental.”
In addition, like other municipalities, Richmond could implement a living wage for all their contractors, Whalen said, which would have an impact on people working in food services, security and cleaning.
The ABC plan includes issues likes ending homelessness and reducing the number of people in poverty, increasing welfare and disability payments, increasing minimum wage to $15, adding social and co-op housing and increasing the number of childcare spaces.
Whalen said she was “encouraged” after their council presentation and said the city has already done work in poverty reduction.
“Richmond has actually done a lot of work on those different planks,” she said.
Council sent the document to city staff for comment and asked for a report back. The report is expected early the new year.
