SURREY – Surrey Fleetwood NDP MLA Jagrup Brar, the only BC MLA to accept the welfare challenge, ended his month-long journey of living like a welfare recipient on Tuesday some 15 pounds lighter but hopefully richer in insight and experience into the lives of welfare recipients who don’t have the option of turning off the nightmare that is a constant in their lives of poverty and alienation.
The Raise the Rates group, which organized Brar’s welfare excursion, said Brar’s experience proved welfare rates were too low as he lost weight because he was unable to afford food and had to cash in bottles to get by in his last days.
Splitting his time between a Surrey rooming house and Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, Brar took up the challenge to learn what it was like to be poor in B.C.
“I want to apologize to the people who lost their lives because of poverty,” Brar said choking up at a conference Tuesday. “We failed to provide you the resources to live your full potential lives and I want to promise you, wherever you are, that I will work hard to make a positive change.”
Brar said his “life-changing” and “humbling” experiences will guide his policy.
“I heard from people housing, housing, housing,” Brar said. “We have a severe shortage of affordable housing and that will be the first thing that I will carry to Ottawa when I talk to my caucus.”
Affordable transit was also added to his long list of necessary service improvements after he discovered it cost $10 to receive a free-hamper meal when using public transport to travel to and from Surrey.
While Brar did not promise policy changes on the spot, he said he would begin a poverty reduction plan immediately with his caucus members.
Other policy improvements Brar promised to make include:
· Decreasing the number of approximately 137,000 B.C. children living in poverty
· Improve disability and mental health services
· Provide training for foreign workers and better protect wage rights
· Support for sponsored refugees to make sure sponsor families are provided with promised food, shelter and services
Others thanked Brar for busting welfare myths like welfare is easy to get and people don’t want to work.
“My dad went on a similar journey 26 years ago; he found it impossible to live in dignity on the welfare rate. He said welfare should go up to $1,300 in today’s money. I pass the torch of his struggle to you; to work for an end to poverty so that BC is a place we can be proud of.” stated Constance Barnes, daughter of Emery Barnes who lived on the welfare rate in 1986.
“I think we can see from Jagrup’s experience running out of food, standing in food lines, and losing weight, that it’s impossible to live on $610 a month without going to charities or resorting to survival tactics,” said Jean Swanson of Raise the Rates which issued the challenge to all MLAs last May.
“Most people in BC would be better off if we ended poverty; they would be better off financially and emotionally. We would save on health and crime costs and there would be less stress and more happiness” stated Bill Hopwood. He added “Low income people spend their money in the local community, unlike the rich and corporations, so a raise would benefit local businesses.”
Heading home on a public bus, Brar said he will take transit more to remind him of the struggles those less fortunate face every day.
Back at home, Brar reclines into a large leather sectional sofa in his 3,000-sq.-ft. foot Surrey home in the Sullivan Heights area.
“Even if you have every skill possible you need to live your life, if you are put in that place, it is hard,” Brar says. “How can you take a shower if there are 100 people waiting for that shower?”
He notes obtaining work would be virtually impossible under those circumstances.
“This 31-day journey into poverty was somewhat difficult at times,” Brar says. “But the next part of my journey, which is making a positive change in the lives of those living in poverty, is going to be the hardest, I know that.
“But we can’t afford not to do anything.”
