Submission to the Budget 2024 Consultations
On June 15, 2023, West Coast LEAF appeared before BC’s Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services to share our key recommendations for Budget 2024. The Committee is conducting public consultations on priorities for the next provincial budget and will release its recommendations by November 15, 2023.
We made three recommendations:
- Make a transformative investment in prevention and support services for children, youth, families, communities, and Indigenous Nations engaged in the family policing system (also known as the child welfare system). This investment should center child and family well-being by addressing barriers such as poverty, the scarcity of harm reduction services for substance use, and inaccessibility of services (e.g., long waitlists).
- Dedicate funding for legal for people who need assistance obtaining spousal support after separation. With no funding currently available for legal aid to assist with spousal support, people are who legally entitled to support may not receive it, worsening the feminization of poverty and child poverty.
- Increase funding for the Homelessness Prevention Program at BC Housing to $20 million to expand the program to all eligible transitional housing programs across the province. This funding would directly assist survivors of family violence by reducing homelessness and increasing long-term safety when fleeing violence.
Read our written submissions on Budget 2024. (PDF, 273 KB)