Iglika Ivanova

Hey local electeds! We're looking forward to next week's webinar with @bcpolicy.bsky.social and Living Wage BC.

Have you registered yet? us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

As the @climateunit.bsky.social prepares to end its 5-yr mission this month, I'm super proud of these final resources we've produced for our allies in the climate justice movement:
✅ Our final Legacies & Lessons report
✅ A final 12-min video on the 6 markers of emergency
✅ Special podcast series. 👇

Next Friday—How Municipalities Can Champion Living Wages.

Learn from Living Wage authors @iglikaivanova.bsky.social and Anastasia French what BC living wage calculations—from $21.55 to $29.60/hour—mean for your community. @civicgovernance.bsky.social

When Bezos changed the Washington Post's editorial board standards to align with “personal liberties and free markets,” he meant his own liberty to become even richer and more powerful, as the rest of America slides into worse economic insecurity and fear.

Vancouver cuts to housing retrofits will be 'responsible for lost lives' Funding for the city's existing buildings retrofit program was nixed in a last-minute amendment brought forward by ABC Councillor Lenny Zhou to Mayor Ken Sim's controversial 2026 budget.

The word 'retrofit' is insufficient to explain the programs Vancouver's ABC party is cutting, said planning Holly Caggiano, a professor at UBC. "It kind of makes it sound like this is a luxury, but cooling and living in a safe home is a human right." www.nationalobserver.com/2025/12/04/n...

National Assembly on Workplace Democracy Regional Forum - University of British Columbia Register Now for an event dedicated to advancing workplace democracy, amplifying workers’ voices, and fostering a national dialogue on practices and institutions that promote greater employee particip...

Stoked to be speaking at the National Assembly on Workplace Democracy regional forum in Vancouver this evening. Join us! We'll be talking about worker’s ability to influence decision-making at work: why it matters & how we can strengthen it. #bcpoli #canlab www.cirhr.utoronto.ca/events/nawd-...

Federal budget spends more on capital investment and less on non-profit sector – so far - The Philanthropist Journal While Budget 2025 does not include a strategy to systemically support programs and services that non-profits and charities provide – or the Canadians working at these organizations – “it could have be...

The future is non-profit driven, primarily because of demographics.
Is the future bankrupt?

Sherlyn Assam takes a deep dive into the chronic underfunding of the sector we literally all depend on at some point in our lives.

thephilanthropist.ca/2025/12/fede...

Regional Forums In anticipation of the final report’s release, regional forums will be held across Canada this fall in collaboration with academic institutions, industry partners, and key stakeholders to unpack...

I look forward to speaking at the National Assembly on Workplace Democracy regional forum in Vancouver on Wednesday evening. Join us to find out more about the Assembly's important work & their recommendations to strengthen workers' voice in Canada. www.workplacedemocracyproject.ca/regional-for...

If she was born in BC, you can get a copy of a birth certificate for a small fee. I imagine the same process is available in other provinces. It would be more complicated for somebody born outside the country. www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/...

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

ICYMI - This evening @ 6 PM, BC Housing and Land Value Tax Panel & Meetup.

Hear from senior economist @1alexhemingway.bsky.social and other experts on the benefits of a land value tax. @sfu.ca Burnaby.

Ken Sim's austerity budget is so severe that they're going to be REMOVING EXISTING BABY CHANGING TABLES

Vancouver, is this really who we are?

Opinion: Vancouver goes small: The city risks big new problems with its proposed turn to austerity Austerity budgets save some money in the short term, but have long-term costs, both financial and otherwise

New opinion piece in the @vancouversun.bsky.social: A turn to austerity will cost Vancouver dearly. vancouversun.com/opinion/opin...

Please Advise! Can Smith and Carney Push a Pipeline Through BC? | The Tyee On this one, says Dr. Steve, the notwithstanding clause won’t be a magic wand.

“Better than duct tape, more versatile than WD-40 — it’s the notwithstanding clause, the all-purpose tool that wipes away every provincial stain, from labour disputes to human rights.”

@steveburgess53.bsky.social advises. #canpoli #abpoli #bcpoli

The 2025 BC Living Wage Report is out and it reveals a stark reality: across the province, living wages range from $21.55 to $29.60 per hour, much higher than the minimum wage.

Join us on Dec 12 to unpack what changed, why it matters, and what municipalities can do. 🧵

Register: tr.ee/jEx13W

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/....

One mile on a bike is a $.42 economic gain to society, one mile driving is a $.20 loss Copenhagen, the bicycle-friendliest place on the planet, publishes a biannual Bicycle Account, and buried in its pages is a rather astonishing fact.

“One mile on a bike is a $.42 economic gain to society, one mile driving is a $.20 loss.”

“Which means that Copenhagen, a city of 1.2 million people, saves $357 million a year on health costs because something like 80% of its population commutes by bike.” #CityMakingMath

Some costs aren’t costs.

Looking forward to the conversation!

Starbucks Workers United escalates strike during busy holiday season Starbucks Workers United is expanding the strike, but the company says it has not yet disrupted the key holiday season.

Remember: If unions didn’t matter, powerful corporations wouldn’t spend millions of dollars every year to stop workers from organizing. Solidarity with the thousands of unionized Starbucks workers who are on strike. Keep up the fight. www.cnbc.com/2025/11/20/s...

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.

Poverty is a policy choice. Concentrated wealth is a policy choice. Inequality is a policy choice. None of it is natural or inevitable. Remember: We have the power to build a system that serves the many, not the powerful few.

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

While governments grapple with intensifying trade tensions, the daily struggles of over 700K low-wage British Columbians—whose paycheques don’t cover the cost of living— often go unnoticed write report authors @iglikaivanova.bsky.social and Anastasia French.
vancouversun.com/opinion/op-e...

ICYMI, senior economist & Living Wage 2025 report co-author @iglikaivanova.bsky.social spoke with CBC BC Today, on the 2025 Living Wage report. The rates in 27 BC communities exceed the minimum wage.

Learn more at a webinar on Wed with Iglika and co-author Anastasia French.
www.cbc.ca/listen/li...

The edge of poverty: B.C.'s living wage far outstrips the minimum wage Even though inflation has eased from its record highs, there is a $10 gap between living and minimum wage in Metro Vancouver

BC's living wage far outstrips the minimum wage.

Even though inflation has eased, there's a $10 gap between living & minimum wage facing nearly a third of Metro Vancouver's workforce. @iglikaivanova.bsky.social, co-ED of @bcpolicy.bsky.social, explains 👇
vancouversun.com/news/bc-livi...

The edge of poverty: B.C.'s living wage far outstrips the minimum wage Even though inflation has eased from its record highs, there is a $10 gap between living and minimum wage in Metro Vancouver

“Minimum wage is not enough to live on anywhere in the province and we need to work to close the gap,” with the living wage that is higher than the minimum wage everywhere in BC said @iglikaivanova.bsky.social.

With Living Wage BC we just released the 2025 report.

Learn about concrete, data-driven policy solutions to tackle BC’s affordability challenges with the authors of this year’s Living Wage report.

@iglikaivanova.bsky.social & Anastasia French will discuss key findings, recommendations & answer your questions, Nov 19, noon PT.
bcpolicy.ca/events/

Very important report by @iglikaivanova.bsky.social
Minimum wage in metro Vancouver is $10 short PER HOUR of what’s needed to survive here. No wonder all my students work fulltime, or almost full time.
No wonder too *ALL* the professionals I know have side hustles or second jobs. We’re all broke.

How is the annual living wage calculated and why is there such a wide gap between the minimum and living wages in BC?

Join a webinar on Wed Nov 19, noon PT, with this year’s report authors @iglikaivanova.bsky.social and Anastasia French to find out about this and more.
bcpolicy.ca/events/

Unionized Starbucks Workers Are on Strike Across the US Starbucks workers at 65 stores in 40 cities across the US walked out Thursday, striking against what they describe as unfair labor practices and the company’s stonewalling at the bargaining table. The...

Starbucks workers in the US are on strike. Think twice before you pop in to grab a peppermint mocha. Respect the picket line and help workers secure a fair deal.

Worker rights anywhere are worker rights everywhere.

jacobin.com/2025/11/star...

Ironically, PM Carney skipped COP30 in Brazil, to announce that the federal government will fast-track the American-owned Ksi Lisims liquefied natural gas project in British Columbia. 👎😒

Media release> dsfdn.org/CarneySkipsC...

Thank you for sharing this.

It's pretty clear that the answer to your question is No, this is not a good use of public resources.

I think the time for asking the question is past. It's now time to demand that this stops immediately.