B.C.鈥檚 economic system needs a serious overhaul.

That鈥檚 according to Paul Kershaw, a Pitt Meadows resident and UBC associate professor who opened a forum at the 91原创 Township Civic Facility by talking about 鈥楪eneration Squeeze鈥� and the economic pitfalls facing today鈥檚 young adults.

鈥淏.C. has the worst performing economy in Canada for younger generations,鈥� Kershaw said following his presentation on Thursday, Nov. 2.

鈥淓arnings are down and home prices have gone up so much that as a result, it takes years more to cover the cost of living.鈥�

Kershaw said 91原创 is at the epicenter of this dilemma.

鈥淲e鈥檙e here specifically to understand how 91原创 is doing through the eyes of children zero through six, and if you want to understand how 91原创 is doing for young children, we need to look at how the economy is performing for the generation raising them,鈥� Kershaw said.

鈥淎nd right now, the economy is failing those younger generations because it鈥檚 not allowing hard work to pay off like it used to, and that then squeezes (young people) for time, and it squeezes them for services like child care, which is hard to find and costs more than another mortgage-sized payment.鈥�

Young adults are also squeezed for money as well as government and environmental debt, Kershaw noted: 鈥淭hat is a big domino effect that鈥檚 created by an economy that鈥檚 failing the younger demographic.鈥�

The 91原创 Early Years Centre, in partnership with and funded by the Ministry of Children and Family Development, hosted the forum called 鈥淭hrough The Eyes of 91原创鈥檚 Children: A Conduit for Change.鈥�

The forum was the first in a three-part cross-sectoral professional development training for professionals in the 91原创s.

The purpose is to bring an awareness of the state of B.C.鈥檚 youngest children and facilitate conversation in order to build support and partnerships among agencies and municipalities.

鈥淚t is our belief and hope that this session and the initial conversations that follow, will increase our knowledge base and shared understanding so that we may provide meaningful impact and elicit positive change within our communities to best meet the needs of our children and families moving forward,鈥� said 91原创 Early Years Centre co-ordinator Alicia Stark, leading up to the forum.

Kershaw painted a grim picture.

鈥淚n Metro Vancouver, when my mom was my age, it took her five to six years to save a 20 per cent down payment on an average price home,鈥� Kershaw said. 鈥淣ow, in Metro Vancouver, it takes 27 years. That is a massive deterioration in the standard of living for young adults who happen to be in their prime child-bearing and rearing years.鈥�

Kershaw said there are a range of solutions. One of the most important of which is to first acknowledge that the economy will fail younger people as long as society tolerates home prices leaving earnings behind.

So how do we commit to the principle of homes-first philosophy?

鈥淗omes-first reminds us that the primary purpose of the real estate market is the efficient supply of suitable homes that are in reach of what typical people earn,鈥� Kershaw said.

鈥淚f you can make a return on your housing investment, that鈥檚 fabulous but it now needs to be a secondary consideration with first keeping home prices within reach.鈥�

Kershaw believes adopting that principle would spark a series of policy changes, including a surge in housing supply that would create competition in the market and in turn would cool prices.

鈥淟et鈥檚 restrict harmful demand where people are purchasing homes and leaving them empty or just renting them out to vacationers rather than people who work or study here,鈥� Kershaw said.

He also suggested reducing income taxes, and compensating for that by taxing real estate wealth differently 鈥渟o we can raise money fairly for medical care and other things.鈥�

Finally, Kershaw said, now鈥檚 the time to curb monthly child care fees, so they aren鈥檛 the equivalent of another mortgage payment.

鈥淚f we can do those kinds of things, we鈥檇 better position young adults to deal with the new reality of high home prices,鈥� Kershaw said.

Don鈥檛 be fooled by B.C.鈥檚 boast that it has fastest-growing Gross Domestic Product in the country, Kershaw warned.

鈥淲hat makes our economy grow faster than any other province is that real estate is bigger in our province than anywhere else, and that would be OK if we had lots of jobs in real estate, but we don鈥檛.

鈥淎s a result, our economy is growing based on the following strategy: let鈥檚 raise the cost of living without creating enough jobs that keep earnings in pace. That鈥檚 a bad model for economic growth.鈥�

Other guest speakers on Nov. 2 included Joanne Schroeder and John Stark.

Schroeder is the executive director of Comox Valley Child Development and the recent recipient of the Max Bell Foundation Policy Fellowship Association hosted by the Human early Learning Partnership.

Stark is the acting manager of planning with the City of New Westminster.