2 THE DAILY VOICE, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2013 BRIAN HORSTEAD EDITOR Cws B.C. tops child poverty rankings Youth advocacy coalition releases new report indi- cating one in five children live in poverty By TYLER HOOPER child poverty rate in the country, well above the national average, according to a new report. The report was released by First Call: BC Child and Youth Advocacy Co- alition and claims that B.C.’s child pov- erty rate is 18.6 per cent,compared with the national average of 13 per cent. The report, titled 2013 Child Poverty Report Card, was based on numbers from Statistics Canada. “B.C. stands out as having done the least among all provinces to bring down child and family poverty through government supports and programs,” said Adrienne Montani, provincial co- ordinator for First Call. Montani also said B.C. is one of the few provinces that has yet to enact a comprehensive poverty-reduction plan. First Call’s report makes 16 recom- mendations, including increasing the minimum wage to $12 an hour and boosting welfare rates to the after-tax poverty line. The report also claims the B.C. pov- erty rate for children under six is 20.7 per cent, eight per cent higher than the national average. In addition, the report states that B.C. has one of the most unequal distri- butions of income between rich and poor families with children. Stephanie Cadieux, Minister of Chil- dren and Family Development, was un- available for a direct comment, but her office issued a statement. “The reality is that there are families that continue to struggle economically and, therefore, we continue to focus on growing the economy, creating jobs and providing supports where they are most needed.” The statement also said the province raised the minimum wage “to among the highest in Canada” and plans to “open up an additional 2,000 child-care spaces, adding to the current number of 100,000.” “Unfortunately, it's a very disap- pointing picture that emerges in the child-poverty report card today, in fact, it’s worse than last year,” said Lorraine Copas, executive director of the Social Planning and Research Council of BC. Be: Columbia has the highest ¢ “S ig WESe AO pn, SF a. ee se alli = NADIM ROBERTS photo VPD officers dress as a different fantasy character each year as a part of their annual demonstration on parking lot theft from auto Cops get medieval on theft The Safer Parking Lot initiative reports reduced crime in their lots HOW 10 prevent theft 1 Don't store gifts in your trunk. Use an anti-theft device. Remove garage door openers and insurance papers. Do not leave ANY possesions in your vehicle. a Ff Ww N Park in a lot with the Safer Parking Award logo. Source: Safer Parking Press Release By NADIM ROBERTS olice are cautioning holiday shoppers to be on guard for crim- inals trying to pinch some Christmas swag in busy parking lots. At a police demonstration held Tues- day morning a VPD officer, dressed as a stereotypical robber, broke through a car window and started snatching Christmas. Luckily, two other officers, one of who was dressed up as Gandalf, were able to stop him. “As we approach Vancouver's busi- est holiday shopping time, shoppers are making multiple trips, running er- rands and collecting goods in their ve- hicles,” said Karen Hopkins-Lee, chief underwriter at Canadian Direct Insur- ance. “This creates prime conditions for thieves who can easily grab our holiday shopping.” The Safer Parking Initiative, a com- bined effort of police, Canadian Direct Insurance and parking lot operators, was launched in 2008 in response to an increase in property crime. Parking lots deemed safe are given the Safer Parking Award and these lots tend to have improved lighting, regular secu- rity patrols and increased surveillance. According to Hopkins-Lee a 47 per cent drop in crime has been reported in these lots, with many reporting zero crime on a monthly basis. “Thieves love anywhere that is dark,” said Vancouver police Const. Brian Montague. “Its important to park in well lit ar- eas that are patrolled, and don’t pick a parking lot based on price alone, that’s not a good idea.” For students worried about expen- sive downtown parking, Montague rec- ommends either taking transit into the city, or shelling out the extra money for safe parking in one of the police ap- proved lots. “T don’t like paying for parking ei- ther, but if your car gets broken into in an insecure lot, you aren’t really saving any money,” said Montague. According to Montague, an experi- enced car thief could hit up to 30 or 40 cars a day but the VPD has made some key arrests in the past two days. According to a press release from Safer Parking, theft from auto occur- rences have dropped since 2012 when 8,179 incidences were reported. Only 5,891 have been reported from January to Sept. 30, 2013, a 18 per cent decrease from the same time in 2012. Certified lots have a Safer Parking Initiative logo posted their entrances, and a map of the lots is online at www. saferparkingvancouver.com Vancouver schools call out for more funding TYLER HOOPER photo Adrienne Montani introduces guests and coordinates the event Vancouver school board chairwoman speaks out against repeated cuts to school district 39 By KENDRA WONG ncouver schools could face “dev- Vpesiatin cuts” if the provincial government doesn’t increase pub- lic schoo] funding, said the chairwom- an of the Vancouver school board yes- terday. “We have a $24-million projected shortfall if funding stays where it is now,” said Patti Bacchus, chairwoman of the board. “If they don’t bump [the education budget] up in the provincial budget, we're in big trouble.” In response to $47-million worth of cuts over the past 12 years, the school board sent an open letter to Premier Christy Clark and her cabinet on Mon- day urging the government to allocate more funding to Vancouver’s public school system. The letter calls for increased funding to upgrade aging facilities, strengthen trades and technology courses and in- crease support for students with spe- cial needs. If cuts continue, both students and staff will be affected. Students could see larger class sizes, fewer course options and shorter school weeks, said Bacchus. As well there could be the loss of hundreds of jobs, including teachers, support workers, office staff and custo- dians. B.C. Minister of Education Peter Fassbender acknowledged the letter in a statement, but said there is currently no wiggle room in the budget. “I can appreciate that school dis- tricts would like to see funding increas- es, but we have a responsibility to all British Columbians to balance the bud- get,” said Fassbender. Fassbender added that there will always be a demand for increasing funding. Bacchus insisted there is money available, but it is a matter of the prov- ince’s priorities. “Think back four years when we had the Olympics. We had money in this province to fly snow from one moun- tain to another,” said Bacchus. “We’ve seen millions spent on events. This is a wealthy province. There is money there, it’s a matter of prioritizing it.” 66 If they don’t bump [the education budget] up in the provincial budget, we’re in big trouble PATTI BACCHUS