One council candidate wants more recreational program subsidies for low-income Richmond residents.
Karina Reid, running as the RITE candidate, suggested, instead of the current $300 subsidy for for children and youth and $100 subsidy for adults and seniors, there should be 60 free drop-in admissions at Richmond’s recreation centres for all low-income residents.
She is also pushing to lower barriers for those applying for subsidies.
The B.C. Seniors Poverty Report Card stated 20.3 per cent of Richmond seniors are living in poverty.
Vancouver’s poverty rate for seniors is 15.4 per cent and Delta’s is 8.9 per cent.
In a press release, Reid said the COVID-19 pandemic has “highlighted the social inequalities in our society.”
She suggests this extension to subsidies would be for a year to help with people’s mental health.
Richmond’s recreation fee subsidy program is normally 90 per cent of the cost of a program up to the maximum allowable; however, because some drop-in programs are shut down because of the pandemic, the subsidy covers 100 per cent of program costs at most facilities.
A single person can receive a subsidy if their after-tax income is below $24,183.
The byelection for one vacant council seat will be held on May 29.
