Alex Hemingway

Rising poverty and economic insecurity among BC seniors Nearly 170,000 BC seniors are living in poverty and many more have incomes only marginally above the poverty line. The poverty rate among BC seniors (15.5%) now exceeds the poverty rate of every other age group, a change since 2015. These are real people who are forced to choose between grocerie

The poverty rate among BC seniors now exceeds the poverty rate of every other age group.

Nearly 170,000 BC seniors are living in poverty and many more have incomes only marginally above the poverty line, writes senior economist @iglikaivanova.bsky.social.

At 5:05 pm, hear senior economist @1alexhemingway.bsky.social on CBC On The Coast commenting on the City of Vancouver's budget and the decision for a 0% increase to property taxes. #vanpoli
www.cbc.ca/listen/li...

BC Housing & Land Value Tax Panel 2025 — Common Wealth Canada Meet housing and LVT advocates in Vancouver and Victoria, November 2025

Land value comes from from the community through public investments, services and growth and a land value tax ensures publicly created wealth goes to the community for a fairer economy.

Hear from @1alexhemingway.bsky.social & other experts. Nov 27, 6 PM @sfu.ca Burnaby
www.commonwealth.ca/....

Series of graphics showing the high tax generation in urban parts of cities, and the negative tax generation relative to service costs in low density parts of cities.

Series of graphics showing the high tax generation in urban parts of cities, and the negative tax generation relative to service costs in low density parts of cities.

Series of graphics showing the high tax generation in urban parts of cities, and the negative tax generation relative to service costs in low density parts of cities.

Series of graphics showing the high tax generation in urban parts of cities, and the negative tax generation relative to service costs in low density parts of cities.

WATCH: If you really STILL don’t understand how car-dependent suburbia is HEAVILY SUBSIDIZED by downtown & all the urban parts of your city, please watch this EXCELLENT video by #NotJustBikes helped by #UrbanThree & @StrongTowns.org. And then please SHARE it as much as possible. youtu.be/7Nw6qyyrTeI

Event graphic for Women Transforming Cities and Friends' Diaper Change-In at City Hall. There is a screenshot of a CTV news article reporting on removing fixtures from some public washrooms as part of the budget cuts.

Vancouver’s draft budget stinks: we demand a change! 👶💩

On Nov 25 from 9-10:30 am join WTC and friends at a diaper “change-in” at Vancouver City Hall as council prepares to vote on the draft operating budget.

ICYMI Vancouver's multiplex restrictions mean far fewer homes will be created than provincial reforms intended says senior economist
@1alexhemingway.bsky.social.

“They’ve only allowed a tiny increase above the amount of floor space you could build for a single-family home."

Opinion: B.C.’s low-wage workers can’t be forgotten despite economic headwinds There is now a staggering $10-per-hour gap between B.C.’s minimum wage and the living wage in Metro Vancouver

Low-wage workers face impossible choices: buy groceries or heat the home, pay bills or the rent.

The 2025 Living Wage report calculates rates for 27 BC communities & finds an affordability crisis province-wide write authors @iglikaivanova.bsky.social and Anastasia French.

🎬 Living Wage report 2025: online briefing Living Wage report authors discuss the key findings and policy recommendations from this year’s Living Wage report.

Missed our Living Wage report webinar Weds?

Authors @iglikaivanova.bsky.social and Anastasia French discuss key findings and policy recommendations. Learn what the living wage means for BC workers today and what has changed since last year.

This is when he was passing the motion to audit non-profit organizations in the Downtown Eastside

why does Sim fear transparency of the city’s budget

A rising cost of living—especially for housing—has caused the highest ever Metro Vancouver living wage.

This is the hourly rate that a full-time worker must earn to cover essential expenses for a basic, decent standard of living and to avoid chronic financial stress.
bcpolicy.ca/living-wage

Metro Vancouver’s living wage is now $10 more/hour than BC’s minimum wage.

More must be urgently done to support the hundreds of thousands of low-wage workers who face impossible budget choices in the region and across BC say @iglikaivanova.bsky.social and Anastasia French.
bcpolicy.ca/living-wage

BC Living Wage 2025 The living wage for Metro Vancouver is now $10 higher than the minimum wage. The highest expense in people's budget is...

Rising costs have pushed Metro Vancouver's living wage to $27.85/hr.

Across BC, living wages range from $21.55 in Grand Forks to $29.60 in Whistler.

We can no longer ignore the widening gap between the low wages many people earn & the actual costs of living. #bcpoli

bcpolicy.ca/living-wage/

A few highlights so far - Bryn Davidson, the owner of a laneway house building co, said the $400 he would save as a property owner isn't worth losing city staff in the planning dept. who have helped change zoning that allowed his business to find a niche.

Nicholas Rae: Renters are more likely to be low-income and this budget does nothing to alleviate our struggles. My rent went up this year and it will go up next year. Property owners can defer their taxes; how is this fair? 1/2

Kathryn Harrison, a UBC prof focused on environmental issues, talked about the death toll of the 2021 heat dome and raised concerns about cuts to climate change work that is ongoing at the city.

Graphic that says "Vancouver budget update: Road safety programs are at risk"

The 2026 Vancouver budget risks imposing cuts to road safety initiatives that we simply can't afford. With so few details being released, we call upon council to amend the budget to direct that essential transportation programs and staff be protected.

👉 More: visionzerovancouver.ca/2025/11/12/2...

Worth noting that because Sim brought forward his proposal for a property tax freeze requiring millions in cuts with just weeks left in the budget process, this is not up for public debate and is not outlined in the documents available to councillors when they vote on this

Mamdani’s victory: a blueprint for BC? The development and delivery of Zohran Mamdani’s platform was as important as the platform itself. This is what made his campaign different.

BC faces similar affordabilty issues as New York City: high housing costs, wages not keeping up with inflation.

So could an agenda like mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani's work here? Could we address policy issues head-on instead of offering incremental tweaks?

Youth Climate Corps breaks into federal Budget 2025 For the hundreds of young activists and their allies (including many supportive members of Parliament) who have pressed hard for this idea, this news comes as a welcome relief and should be seen as a ...

For the hundreds of young activists and their allies who have pressed hard for the idea of a Youth Climate Corps, the YCC’s inclusion in this week’s fed budget should be seen as a win, but not overstated.

Here’s our take in today’s @nationalobserver.com: www.nationalobserver.com/2025/11/06/o...

Three missed opportunities in Canada’s federal budget Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first federal budget comes at an important moment for Canada as we face an increasingly hostile United States and the need to chart our own path. The choices this gover...

Three missed opportunities in Canada's federal budget:

1) "Sacrifice"—but not asked of the wealthy;

2) Bold rhetoric but weak action on housing;

3) Productivity drive that misses key low-hanging fruit;

Some reflections for @bcpolicy.bsky.social bcpolicy.ca/2025/11/07/c...

Hot takes on climate implications of the 2025 Cdn budget. On one hand, lots of emphasis on investment in the low-carbon economy of the future, and using GHG reductions/$ as a standard for public investments. On the other, embrace of and subsidies for LNG as clean energy. \1

Donate We rely on support from individual supporters to produce critical research and mobilize progressive policy knowledge into key conversations with decision-makers, the media, progressive movements and t...

Mamdani's NYC win shows people want bold policies that work.

Want to see similar solutions in BC? @bcpolicy.bsky.social researches and advocates for actionable, evidence-based progressive policies for our province.

Bold policy change takes resources. Be a part of the change: www.bcpolicy.ca/donate

🎙️ New Podcast: Anjali, Seth, & Alex Hemingway break down #Budget2025 & the Climate Competitiveness Strategy. We also talk housing, public revenue & Zohran Mamdani!

🎧 Tune in: tinyurl.com/bdcn7ahy

@anjaliappadurai.bsky.social @sethdklein.bsky.social @1alexhemingway.bsky.social @bcpolicy.bsky.social

The hierarchy of controls in this article is excellent!

Encouraging to see YIMBY housing analysis from the New York Democratic Socialists of America, which Zohran Mamdani comes out of. He's also made encouraging comments himself.

Here's hoping that good policy follows!

Trump can't stop New York from ending exclusionary zoning.

Ahead of mayoral election results in #NYC take a look at thoughts from our racial equity researcher Véronique Sioufi.
bcpolicy.ca/2025/08/...

Thinking ahead to tomorrow's federal budget and all the talk of Canadians needing to make sacrifices, I can't help but wonder when the wealthiest few might be asked to do that.

Unfortunately I don't think that's part of the plan.

Budget 2025 should bolster employee ownership to strengthen Canada’s economy Budget 2025 is an opportunity to make employee ownership permanent and boost productivity by extending and expanding the capital gains exemption for EOTs.

In next week's budget, the federal government has an opportunity to bolster employee ownership and economic democracy to strengthen Canada's economy. Will they take it?

bcpolicy.ca/2025/10/06/t...

We’re bringing them back—here is the first of hopefully many sixplexes we build in Spokane!

The city's survey on the draft Official Development Plan (which is supposed to guide planning for the next 30 years!) closes TOMORROW, Wed October 29.

Want some help filling out the survey? Don't worry. We got you. With our help it'll only take a minute!

www.abundanthousingv...