The Tyee’s legislative bureau chief in Victoria, Andrew MacLeod discusses his new book A Better Place on Earth: The Search for Fairness in Super Unequal British Columbia (Harbour Publishing, 2015), with Joseph Planta.

A Better Place on Earth: The Search for Fairness in Super Unequal British Columbia by Andrew MacLeod (Harbour Publishing, 2015). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: A Better Place on Earth

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, at TheCommentary.ca.

An important and engaging book is the new book from author Andrew MacLeod. The award-winning journalist, and legislative bureau chief for TheTyee.ca has written A Better Place on Earth: The Search for Fairness in Super Unequal British Columbia. He writes of how inequality has risen in this province, to the point where BC now has the highest rate of inequality in Canada. The rich are getting richer, to a point where the top 10% have more than half the wealth. For the rest of the province, income is stagnant. Now, this might seem like a problem throughout the world, so I’ll ask Mr. MacLeod, who joins me now, about what sets BC apart. He’s done a lot of research, and he’s interviewed politicians, economists, activists, and policy makers, as well as single parents, those struggling to live on disability assistance, as well as wage workers, who despite working more than forty hours a week, can’t make ends meet, not to mention don’t have savings or a house. What does all this inequality mean for a province that still considers itself the ‘Best Place on Earth?’ The book also has some solutions, and we’ll look at those too. The book is from Harbour Publishing. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, in Victoria, BC today, Andrew MacLeod; Mr. MacLeod, good morning.

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