The government of British Columbia announced a bill aimed at reducing the poverty rate by 60% over the coming years.

The government pointed to the focus on raising children and the elderly out of the poverty line.

The government set the goals of this project to reduce poverty to the maximum extent possible in the province, and Minister of Social Development Sheila Malcolmson mentioned in this regard that this legislation, which was introduced, works to amend three laws in order to enact more efficient laws that work to reduce rates of poverty and deprivation, and provide more support.

She confirmed that the legislation obligates the province to work on reducing poverty rates by 60% over the next ten years, including reducing child poverty by 75%, and for the first time, works to prevent poverty among the elderly by 50%.

It is noteworthy that the latest reports on this matter related to poverty reduction indicate that since 2021, poverty rates have declined by 45% compared to the rates recorded in 2016, and child poverty has also declined by 54.6%.

While the report also indicated that there are still about 447 thousand people living in poverty in 2021, including a 70% increase in child poverty.