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Reconciliation and affordable housing are crucial for B.C. poverty reduction: Minister

Simon Little/CKNW

The federal government announced Tuesday it’s working out a plan to cut the poverty rate in Canada.

As for what British Columbians can expect, Social Development and Poverty Reduction Minister Shane Simpson said the timeline is being mapped out.

READ MORE: Federal government announces ambitious plan to reduce poverty in Canada

“We’re going to introduce legislation in October [for] a poverty reduction strategy, and then we’ll put in place a detailed plan with next February’s budget.”

Simpson said they’ll base that legislation off of details they’re hoping to get from the federal government in the coming months.

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When asked where the money might come from to fund the plan in B.C., Simpson said he’s not expecting any new dollars coming the province’s way.

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“We’re not seeing any new federal money here, and the investments I anticipate will be ones that we have already made provincially.”

“The question now as we move forward is how do we get at the other things we want,” he said, noting that housing affordability and reconciliation are necessary to help combat poverty in the province.

READ MORE: Child poverty up in Canada since 1989, new research finds

The federal government’s bold goal is to cut the nation’s poverty rate in half by 2030.

Within two years, the government aims to reduce the poverty rate by 20 per cent.

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