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What’s a living wage
What is a reasonable family income in the Metro Vancouver area? The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has produced a report on just that issue.
A summary of the Economic Security Project’s Working for a Living Wage 2008 Report can be downloaded at www.firstcallbc.org/pdfs/EconomicEquality/3-LW%20summary.pdf. The full report at www.firstcallbc.org/pdfs/EconomicEquality/3-LW%20report.pdf.
Here is a summary of their Bare Bones Family Budget
Calculations and categories courtesy of the Economic Security Project
The Living Wage calculation is based on a family of four: two parents both working full time and two children, one four and one seven years old. This is not a luxury budget, or a ‘wouldn’t this be nice’ budget. This is a survival budget. The family will not be living large on this budget, they will just be living.
At $16.74 per hour for Metro Vancouver ($30,467 annually for each parent working full-time), here is what that family could afford each month:
- Food: $652,based on estimates by the Dieticians of Canada for a nutritious diet
- Clothing and footwear: $191
- Shelter: $1,259
- includes CHMC-based rent estimate for a three-bedroom unit, utilities, telephone and home contents insurance
- Transportation: $523,includes a two-zone bus pass and the cost of owning and operating a (very) used car
- ChildCare: $982,four year old in full-time care, seven year old in after-school care, and six weeks of summer care
- Medical Services Plan(MSP) premiums: $108
- Non-MSP health care: $133
- Pacific Blue Cross Insurance; does not include expenses only partially covered by the insurance plan
- Parents’ education: $83,one college course each,per year
- Contingency fund: $195, small cushion for unexpected events like a serious illness, short-term layoff, transition time between jobs, etc
- Other: $570,personal care, furniture, household supplies, school supplies, some reading materials, minimal recreation and entertainment
The Living Wage calculation does not cover:
• Credit card, loan, or other debt/interest payments;
• Savings towards buying a home, for retirement or for children’s future education;
• Anything beyond minimal recreation, entertainment, or holiday costs;
• Costs of caring for a disabled, seriously ill, or elderly family member; or
• Anything beyond a minimum cushion for emergencies or tough times.
More information on the Living Wage can be found at http://livingwageforfamilies.ca/
Health Cluster Models - Development Review Final Report
Prepared by Lycia M. Rodrigues, Research Assistant, Surrey Board of Trade
Funded by Simon Fraser University
Clustering universities, health authority services, and industries in an area contributes to the local and national economy. Attracting health education and research, strengthening the health industry, and integrating health care services in cities would contribute to the economic development and enhance the quality of life in the region. The focus of this report is to identify health cluster models and develop recommendations for an appropriate model for a health cluster in Surrey. Read the whole report here.
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