Dr. Sandra Allison emphasized the finding.
"That was a message we heard right across the north," she said during a briefing with local media. "Poverty is an important challenge."
Citing First Call: B.C., a poverty-reduction advocacy group, Allison said one in five children in the province live below the low-income measure and it's worse in at least one northern B.C. community.
"If you look at some of our centres, like Prince Rupert for example, up to 38 or 40 per cent of children are living in poverty there," Allison said.
According to an accompanying Northern Health report, the fallout from living in poverty can include inadequate housing, insufficient and low-quality food, being left out of sport and cultural activities, lower involvement in education and living with the stigma of being seen as different from other children.