My Office applauds the B.C. government for taking the first steps towards creating a strategy to reduce poverty in B.C. by soliciting the views of citizens. I am pleased to offer this submission on behalf of the Office of the Representative for Children and Youth (RCY) to help inform this strategy.

The mandate of my Office is to champion fundamental rights and promote improvements in services for vulnerable children and youth. Through the Representative for Children and Youth Act, my Office oversees the provincial child welfare and other child-serving systems, including policies and services provided to children, and investigates and reports on both individual situations and larger trends to spur necessary improvements to the system. Our goal is to improve the lives of all children and youth in B.C. by working towards a province in which children and youth are healthy and safe and their interests and viewpoints are heard and acted upon.