None of B.C.'s 85 MLAs has agreed to take the MLA Welfare Challenge. Raise the Rates, a coalition of more than 20 organizations from around the province that are concerned with the level of poverty and homelessness in B.C., launched the MLA Welfare Challenge May 26. The group challenged all B.C. MLAs to try to live on the province's welfare rate of $610 a month for a single person. Raise the Rates notes most singleroom occupancy, or SRO, hotel rooms cost $425 a month, $50 more than the government's allowance of $375. The Dietitians of Canada estimate the cost of a healthy diet for an adult male is $250 a month. Any income must be declared and is deducted off the next welfare payment. Raise the Rates will return to the challenge in September, when it will be clear whether there will be a fall provincial election. In the meantime, the coalition is challenging all MLAs to devise a budget for a single person on welfare. "It is a major disappointment that, while the parties talk about tackling poverty in B.C., no MLA is prepared to live on the welfare rates they set," states a Raise the Rates press release. More than 180,000 people in B.C. depend on welfare. The late Emery Barnes lived on welfare for seven weeks 25 years ago while an NDP MLA. Based on his experience, he stated that the welfare rate for a single person without disabilities should be $700 a month. This is equivalent to $1,290 in today's money, double the present rate. For more information, see raisetherates.org.
