Progress Board report on poverty, crime an indictment of Campbell's record - James

VICTORIA - British Columbia's ninth place provincial ranking on poverty and crime rates is an indictment of Gordon Campbell's record, NDP Leader Carole James said today. The findings are part of the B.C. Progress Board's Interim Report.
"Under Gordon Campbell, B.C. is becoming known as Canada's capital for poverty, crime, and despair," said James. "One in four children lives in poverty, homelessness is exploding and now the Premier's own Progress Board says that for the third year in a row B.C. ranks second to last in the social condition of our population."

The B.C. Progress Report's 2007 Interim Report compares B.C.'s social condition to other provinces based on five categories: low-income cut off, personal property crime, income assistance levels, low birth weight, and long-term unemployment. B.C.'s overall ranking was ninth in Canada, with the second worst poverty and crime rate in the country.

James said the Progress Board Report comes on the heels of a report by Seattle's Cascadia Institute which found that the poverty rate in B.C. is growing and the median income is falling.

"At precisely the time we should be making progress on issues like child poverty and crime, Gordon Campbell is looking the other way," said James. "It's shameful that with big surpluses, high commodity prices, and a growing economy so many British Columbians are being left behind."