It’s so hard for young people to get ahead in British Columbia.
So much financial hardship is stacked up against them, straight out of the gate.
Once they’ve finished high school, those pursuing a career requiring post-secondary education must contend with withering tuition.
A visit to the mailbox will reveal happy birthday letters, prior to them turning 19, congratulating them that because they’ve become adults they now get to shoulder the responsibility of paying MSP, and higher banking fees.
Making enough money to cover rent, of course, is but a pipe dream for so many and their inability to afford rent keeps so many of them in their parents’ nest.
As of Sept. 1, young drivers are faced with the added burden of crippling insurance premiums thanks to ICBC’s new regime of changes.
For many young people, the price of their yearly insurance is more costly now than the car they drive, even without collision coverage.
This is ostensibly for lack of experience, but it ignores the fact that many young people are conscientious, safe drivers.
Many middle-aged people, conversely, are terrors on the road but their premiums are based on their personal behaviour, not their demographic.
The Human Rights Code of B.C. intends to protect citizens against discrimination on the basis of age.
Too many young people in this province, setting out to begin their independent journey in life, are like salmon constantly smacked back downstream by waterfalls of government and corporate-made financial obstacles.
Of course, having rich parents helps some young people get by with little stress.
But what relief does the average young person have against the onslaught of fees and costs that assail them once they achieve the so-called age of majority in this province?
