A women’s rights group is shining a spotlight on provincial legislation and policy that may have an unfair impact on vulnerable members of society in B.C.

West Coast LEAF has created three new research papers intended to help gauge how key pieces of legislation have affected women, children, low-income individuals, and others. The so-called equality impact statements focus on the Carbon Tax Act, the Residential Tenancy Act, and legislation and policy related to home heating.

“They were developed to assist equality-seeking groups and government actors in ensuring that provincial legislation is having a positive impact on British Columbians,” reads a news release West Coast LEAF issued today (January 4). “The analysis uses gender as a focal point to compare the intentions of law-makers to meet standards of fairness and equality with the actual outcomes of legislative and policy choices.”

“The Equality Impact Statements highlight where the intentions of law-makers have been successful and where they have not, and offer considerations for legislative or policy reform,” the release continues. “Each Equality Impact Statement outlines the positive, negative, and potentially gendered impacts of a given piece of legislation on particularly vulnerable groups.”

On the carbon tax, West Coast LEAF identified people with low incomes and those living in rural areas as vulnerable to the legislation, which is aimed at reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. In particular, the equality impact statement cites research that shows low-income households bear a larger financial burden from the tax than high-income households.

On the Residential Tenancy Act, West Coast LEAF says seniors as well as single mothers and their children face the greatest challenges from the legislation, which covers rental housing. The Vancouver-based group highlights the risks of low income-assistance rates combined with high housing costs, and poor access to support from the Residential Tenancy Branch.

West Coast LEAF also identified single mothers and those living in rural areas on low incomes as vulnerable to home-heating legislation, regulations, and policy. The group cites problems related to high utility costs and barriers to becoming energy efficient at home.

In the research papers, West Coast LEAF provides a series of recommendations on how to address the problems stemming from the legislation. Among the recommendations are calls for reforms to how the carbon is applied, more protection and support for renters, and creation of a utilities allowance for those on social assistance.