As the summer holidays draw to a close, many families are starting to think about their back-to-school tasks. Buy school supplies. Take their children for haircuts. And help their kids pick out the perfect outfit for the first day of school.

Sunday, Dec. 6, 2020, marked the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, the day we pay our respects to 14 engineering students and staff who were murdered at École Polytechnique in Montreal in 1989 solely because they were women.

In a world where we are isolated at home, what happens when home is a place of violence, intimidation, threats and fear?

The B.C. government reassures renters they will not be evicted if they cannot pay rent during the state of emergency related to novel coronavirus (COVID-19). As announced on March 25, 2020, the Province has halted evictions during the COVID-19 crisis.

Every week in British Columbia, an estimated 1,000 women are physically or sexually assaulted. These assaults happen at work, at school and at home. They happen in communities of every kind – urban and rural. And they need to stop.

Watching a young person struggle with mental health or addictions challenges is a parent’s worst nightmare. We all want to see our children thrive. And yet when they need help, families in crisis have had to struggle to navigate a fragmented system that doesn’t get their kids the care they need. There are waitlists to navigate, expensive bills to pay and doors that seemingly lead nowhere.

Tomorrow is the first day of Gender Equality Week in Canada — a week driven by a vision where people of all genders and gender expressions are treated fairly and have equal access to opportunities. 

To address the issue of housing affordability for British Columbians, the Province is curbing speculative demand in B.C.’s housing market and helping build 114,000 affordable market rental, non-profit, supported social housing and owner-purchase housing through partnerships.

People in B.C.’s rural communities are often the unsung heroes of our provincial economy.