{"id":2348,"date":"2024-05-16T18:48:20","date_gmt":"2024-05-16T18:48:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bchealthycommunities.ca\/?p=2348"},"modified":"2024-05-16T18:48:20","modified_gmt":"2024-05-16T18:48:20","slug":"the-issue-economic-equality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bchealthycommunities.ca\/index.php\/2024\/05\/16\/the-issue-economic-equality\/","title":{"rendered":"THE ISSUE: Economic Equality"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The Issue<\/strong> is a series of articles on Healthy Community issues and topics, written by BC Healthy Communities Staff.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

What is the issue?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Economic equality.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Why is it important?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Healthy Communities foster health by\u2014among other things\u2014making sure that the environments within them are supportive of health. Though we often think of physical environments such as Healthy Built Environments and Healthy Natural Environments, the environments within communities that impact our health can also be social, political, and especially economic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we think about what determines our health, we often fall back on behaviours such as eating fruits and vegetables, and maintaining an exercise routine. While these factors, as well as genetics, do play some role in our health, research indicates that much of our health is actually determined by social and structural factors<\/a>, called determinants of health<\/em>. One of the most prominent of these is income\/poverty\u2014in other words, our economic environment. Income level has been shown to affect health outcomes across the population to a much higher degree than health behaviours<\/a> such as smoking or maintaining a certain body weight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Healthy economic<\/em> environments address this income\/poverty determinant by ensuring \u201cwork for everyone capable of working, where workers are treated as assets and are paid a living wage, where there is equal economic opportunity for all, where those who can\u2019t work are supported, and where money doesn\u2019t buy political power or immunity from the law.\u201d<\/a> Implementation of a living wage, which reflects the actual cost of living in a given community, can also benefit the local economy<\/a> through increased discretionary spending, as well as reduced staff turnover and increased productivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As part of a healthy economic environment, healthy work<\/em> environments<\/a> support community health and well-being by offering safe and humane places for people to work, where expectations and compensation are reasonable and fair. Workers who are protected by safety precautions, anti-harassment and bullying policies, and fair wage legislation are healthy individuals who can actively participate in creating healthy economies and communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does this look like through an equity lens?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

When we examine issues through an equity lens, we consider: who benefits? who does not benefit, or is in fact harmed? <\/em>Over the last 40 years, average hourly wages in Canada have not significantly grown<\/a> when adjusted for inflation. However, what\u2019s hidden in this statistic is that the richest group of Canadians have enjoyed an increased share of total national income over this time, while the poorest and middle-income groups have lost ground<\/a>. What\u2019s more, certain groups of Canadians<\/a> disproportionately experience low income, including new Canadians, women and single parents, racialized folks including Indigenous people, and people living with disabilities. As mentioned above, the health impacts of low income can be severe\u2014in Montr\u00e9al, for example, there is an 11-year gap in life expectancy<\/a> for men in the poorest neighbourhoods compared to the wealthiest neighbourhoods. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does this mean for local governments?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The downstream effects of poverty, income inequality, and unsafe working conditions can present a strain on public services<\/a> including policing, housing programs and social services. Using the five pillars of Healthy Communities, local governments can take action towards healthier economic environments in their community. Here are just a few ideas:<\/p>\n\n\n\n