No More Silence: It's Time to Stand Together – A Call for Justice for BC’s Forgotten Families
By Tina Winterlik aka Zipolita
For decades, people in British Columbia—especially single mothers and their children—have suffered in silence. We’ve endured the consequences of heartless cuts to social assistance, housing, and essential services under former Premier Gordon Campbell and successive governments. And it’s not over.
Many of us are still paying the price, day after day.
I recently learned about the courageous single mothers in Nova Scotia who stood up against discriminatory policies. Back in the 1980s, they formed Mothers United for Metro Housing (MUMS) to challenge unfair housing laws that made it legal for landlords to refuse them shelter just because they had children or were on welfare. Today, single mothers in Nova Scotia are still fighting against cruel policies like the child support clawback—which takes money meant for their children and deducts it from their already meager social assistance.
Sound familiar?
Here in BC, we’ve lived through similar injustices. Under the Campbell government in the early 2000s, the social safety net was torn apart:
- Thousands were kicked off welfare rolls under stricter eligibility.
- The Human Rights Commission was eliminated.
- Disability support was slashed.
- Affordable housing vanished while rents skyrocketed.
- Legal aid and education funding were gutted.
- Services for women, children, Indigenous communities, and people with disabilities were decimated.
The impact? Devastating.
Single moms were forced into deeper poverty.
Children grew up without stability.
Some lost their homes. Others lost hope.
Many of those children are now adults—struggling with trauma, housing, mental health, and discrimination rooted in policies made when they were just kids.
We Need to Make This Right.
We’re calling for a Class Action Lawsuit—against the government policies that caused irreversible harm.
We want to unite everyone who suffered under those cuts: single parents, people with disabilities, former foster kids, homeless individuals, and anyone who still carries the weight of that injustice.
But we need your help to do this.
JOIN US: Rally for Justice
Date: Thursday, May 29
Location: Insert location here (e.g., Vancouver Art Gallery or BC Legislature)
Time: Insert time here
Let’s show up in numbers. Let’s speak up. Let’s show the government we won’t be ignored any longer.
Here’s What You Can Do Right Now:
- Sign the Petition – Start or sign here
- Write a Letter – To your MLA, to the Premier, to the media. Tell your story.
- Share This Post – Help spread the word far and wide.
- Offer Support – Are you a lawyer, advocate, or journalist? We need you.
- Join the Rally – Bring a friend, bring your truth, bring your power.
Calling All Organizers:
If you're planning a rally, event, or action on May 29 (or after), please copy and paste this post to your own blogs, pages, or emails. Add your group name, contact info, and rally details.
We are stronger together.
We’ve been suffering in silence for far too long.
Now it’s time to rise together and demand dignity, justice, and change.
If you're someone who lived through the cuts…
If you’re still struggling because of them…
If you care about fairness and equity in BC…
Stand with us. May 29 is just the beginning.
#JusticeForBC
#RiseUpBC
#MakeThemPay
#ClassActionNow
#ZipolitaSpeaks