When It Comes to Youth Homelessness, ‘Depressingly Little’ Has Changed

Since the last time the McCreary Centre Society conducted a youth homelessness survey in 2014, British Columbia’s housing crisis has deepened. The toxic drug crisis has claimed 13,000 lives. And Indigenous children continue to be grossly overrepresented in government care.

But the young people most at risk of homelessness — those who are Indigenous, LGBTQ2S+, refugees, from government care or with health issues — remain the same.

The results of the 2023 McCreary Centre Society’s Homeless Youth Health and Wellness Survey were revealed Monday as part of the Society’s report “Searching for a Place: The health and well-being of homeless and unstably housed youth in B.C.”

The survey collected responses from 838 youth ages 12 to 27 from 36 B.C. communities, who were experiencing homelessness, at risk of homelessness or unstably housed.

Because the 2014 survey included youth aged 12 to 19 from 13 communities, it’s not possible to compare the two.

But Annie Smith, McCreary Centre Society’s executive director, says there is a pattern of who is at risk of homelessness.

“Depressingly little (has changed), to be honest. We still see overrepresentation of Indigenous youth, of refugee youth, of young people who have been through the care system, of young people with a disability,” she said.

Opening the survey up to 36 communities has helped lift the veil on rural youth homelessness, Smith added. |Read more https://thetyee.ca/News/2023/11/02/Youth-Homelessness-Health-Wellness-McCreary-Report/| thetyee.ca/News/2023/11/02/You…

#bcpoli #youth #homeless #MacCrearyCentre #Indigenous #survey

Liberals and NDP accuse Conservatives of mounting ‘attack’ on energy workers

Liberals, New Democrats and labour organizations are accusing the Conservatives of holding up legislation they say would support oil and gas workers through the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Studies of bills meant to foster offshore energy production in Atlantic Canada (Bill C-49) and the emergence of sustainable jobs (Bill C-50) are being held up because of filibustering.

The bills are supposed to be before the House of Commons natural resources committee, but the studies have not begun because of procedural wrangling by Conservative MPs.

“This kind of stuff is just a joke. It’s ridiculous,” said Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson. “Canadians, if they came here and they actually were in the room and observed this, they would be appalled at the work that is not being done in this place.

“So I am concerned because I don’t know when this is going to end.”

NDP energy critic Charlie Angus and labour leaders who represent energy workers called a news conference Thursday to speak about the impasse at the committee.

“We’re here this morning to call out [Conservative Leader] Pierre Poilievre’s attempt to attack the future of Canadian workers, and Canadian energy workers in particular,” Angus said.

“The Conservatives interfered, undermined, used Gong Show tactics, petty whining, continual interference to derail the voice of workers who are living the energy transition now and expect from the Canadian government a better future.”

Why do Conservatives oppose the bills?

Federal Conservatives and the Alberta government of Premier Danielle Smith have opposed both bills, particularly the sustainable jobs legislation.

The right-of-centre parties argue the sustainable jobs bill is a Trojan horse meant to phase out Canada’s oil and gas sector. |Read more https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/low-carbon-economy-transition-climate-change-1.7016490| cbc.ca/news/politics/low-carbo…

#cdnpoli #workers #cleanEnergy #Poilievre #Smith #reject #feds

Carbon tax change has Canadians asking about the program. Here’s how it’s supposed to work

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s decision to exempt home heating oil from the carbon tax has thrust the controversial policy back into the spotlight — and renewed calls from Conservatives for it to be scrapped altogether.

But it has also raised questions about how exactly the tax is meant to work and the role it’s meant to play in the country’s emissions targets.

CBC News has received plenty of questions in recent days about the inner workings of the tax. Here are some of them, answered.

Does the tax apply in all provinces?

Canada’s carbon tax is a patchwork, because some provinces were resistant to the idea, and others already had their own policies in place. There are also two systems for pricing carbon in Canada: the fuel charge, which is a consumer carbon tax on the gasoline and fossil fuels used to heat your house, and another system applied to industrial emitters. (You can find a full breakdown by the government here.)

Residents in Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island are, as of this year, all subject to the tax (and rebate), joining those in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Yukon and Nunavut. British Columbia, Quebec and the Northwest Territories follow their own carbon-pricing mechanisms that meet federal standards.

Does it actually reduce emissions?

Empirical research shows a carbon tax leads to a reduction in emissions, with some cases showing greater success than others. In British Columbia, where a carbon tax was put in place in 2008, research from 2015 found that the tax has reduced emissions in the province by between five and 15 per cent since being implemented without adversely affecting economic growth. |Read more https://www.cbc.ca/news/climate/carbon-tax-home-heating-oil-1.7015480| cbc.ca/news/climate/carbon-tax…

#cdnpoli #CarbonTax #emissions #environment #systems

Alberta announces reforms to address high premiums for auto insurance

The Alberta government is promising reforms to reduce high auto insurances costs, but the Official Opposition says the changes are so soft and cosmetic they do little for drivers getting walloped by high premiums.

Finance Minister Nate Horner announced that as of Jan. 1, drivers with good records cannot have their premiums increased by more than September’s inflation rate.

That rate was 3.7 per cent.

“Our government remains fully committed to making auto insurance affordable, sustainable and reasonable for both Alberta drivers and insurers,” Horner told a news conference Wednesday.

Horner said he didn’t know how many Alberta drivers would qualify as good drivers under their established criteria.

“We don’t know that precisely, but we’re confident it’s definitely the majority of Albertans,” he said.

“If you’ve gotten two traffic tickets in the last three years, buckle up, your rates are going to soar,” Gray told reporters.

“Many Albertans will not qualify for this cap, and the insurance industry is going to come looking to get their profits from those folks.”|Read more https://globalnews.ca/news/10063537/alberta-auto-insurance-reform/| globalnews.ca/news/10063537/al…

#abpoli #CarInusrance #insurance #rates #reforms #profits #companies

Saskatchewan gas utility could face steep fines and jail for not remitting carbon tax

Fines, jail possible for not remitting carbon tax

REGINA – Saskatchewan’s natural gas utility could face hefty fines for not remitting the carbon tax to the federal government, and its executives may also face jail for failing to do so, federal legislation says.

Premier Scott Moe announced this week that SaskEnergy would not remit the carbon tax on natural gas starting Jan. 1, unless Ottawa exempts the fuel.

Legal professors say if SaskEnergy doesn’t remit the charges, it could face big consequences.

“The stakes are actually quite high for failing to remit the carbon tax,” Gerard Kennedy, a law professor at the University of Alberta, said Tuesday.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced last week the carbon tax would be exempt for three years on home heating oil to address affordability needs.

The move largely helps those in Atlantic provinces, where it’s a main source for home heating.

Moe and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith have said the exemption is unfair and asked Trudeau to extend it to cover all other forms of heating, including natural gas.

Trudeau said Tuesday that Ottawa won’t offer further exemptions, saying heating oil is far more expensive than natural gas and those who use it don’t have other options readily available.|Read more https://www.thecanadianpressnews.ca/national/saskatchewan-gas-utility-could-face-steep-fines-and-jail-for-not-remitting-carbon-tax/article_f06bc0cd-310d-58ca-a6bb-6cc18f5dd3b4.html| thecanadianpressnews.ca/nation…

#skpoli #cdnpoli #CarbonTax #fines #feds #oil #atlantic