Raise the Rates www.raisetherates.org
Can you Live on $610 a month?

Media release
February 12th, 2012

Raise the Rates, the BC coalition that challenged MLAs to live on the welfare rate of $610 a month issued a new challenge today:

“We challenge the BC government to immediately raise disability rates to the Alberta level of $1588 per month,” said Andrina Perry of Raise the Rates.  “There is no reason for BC residents who have a disability to have their health issues compounded by trying to live on the mere $906 that they get in BC.”

Raise the Rates wants the BC government to increase all income assistance benefits, including those for single parents and single people, to levels that are adequate to live on.

“People with disabilities in BC are living in poverty,” said Robin Loxton of the BC Coalition of People with Disabilities.  “We call on the BC government to immediately increase BC’s disability rates.”

“If BC copied the Alberta increase it means people with disabilities like me could go to the community fitness gym for physiotherapy without taking the money out of our food budgets,” said Brenn Kapitan. “It would mean I could get a massage for my inflamed joints, have a longer life expectancy and reduce my risk of cancer.”

Alberta also increased the amount of earnings that people with a disability can keep from $400 a month to $800.

Contacts:

Raise the Rates:

Jean Swanson,  604 729 2380
Bill Hopwood,  778 686-5293 (cell),  604 738-1653
Raise the Rates Website: http://www.raisetherates.org/home2.htm
MLA Welfare Challenge Website: http://mlaonwelfare.com

BC Coalition of People with Disabilities:  Robin Loxton:  778 879 9207

For information on the Alberta increase:

http://alberta.ca/acn/201202/3191163E5F543-E3D4-FB5E-826ED0AFD115DA5B.html