Low-income workers in Metro Vancouver and across B.C. can’t afford to think about the future. They’re just trying to afford the present.

A recent report from B.C. Policy Solutions pins the living wage — the minimum needed for basic necessities like food and shelter, with a small contingency fund — at an all-time high of $27.85 an hour.

That’s exactly $10 higher than the province’s minimum wage.

The annually calculated report by the progressive think-tank is a weighted average of the monthly expenses needed for three household types: a two-parent family with two children ($3,343), a single parent with one child ($2,603) and a single adult living alone ($2,107). It includes food, shelter, child care, transportation and other costs, but doesn’t factor in any debt repayment or retirement s

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