MEDIA RELEASE

The Caring Community:
Accounting for the Impacts of
Provincial Government Changes

March 30, 2005 - For Immediate Release.

The Community Reconstruction Project is a three-year
study of the impacts of the changes in provincial govern-
ment policy and programs within BC’s Capital Region.
The Final Report, released March 30, 2005, describes
those impacts and the steps necessary to repair the
harmful impacts.

Twenty-eight not-for-profit agencies that provide social services
in British Columbia’s Capital region participated in the study.
Participating agencies include providers of services in rural and
urban areas to families, women, children, youth, First Nations
people, immigrants and refugees, people with disabilities, and
people living in poverty. Twice a year during the study, these
agencies completed surveys and met to discuss findings,
strategies and recommendations.

Community Reconstruction Project findings show
extensive evidence of harmful impacts on vulnerable
populations and on the capacity of all of the participating
agencies. There was some evidence of helpful impacts
affecting discrete populations.

The boards, staff and volunteers of the participating
agencies are concerned about the negative outcomes
of many of the provincial government’s changes.
They identify the key government changes made since
2002 that most impacted vulnerable people, agency
services and the community as a whole. The report
includes recommendations by participating agencies
for redressing the most damaging impacts.

The full version (25 pages) of The Caring Community:
Accounting for the Impacts of Provincial Government
Changes and a summary version (6 pages) is available
on the Community Council website.

The Community Reconstruction Project is an initiative of the
Community Council, funded by the United Way of Greater Victoria
and supported by a Steering Committee composed of a broad
range of individuals and organizational representatives.

For further information please contact:

Christina Peacock, Community Council, tel (250) 383-6166

Maureen Duncan, United Way of Greater Victoria, tel (250) 385-6708

Val Green, Volunteer Victoria, tel (250) 386-2269

-30-

Communications Manager
Community Council
1144 Fort Street, Victoria, BC V8V 3K8
Tel: 250-383-6166 Fax: 250-385-6712 email: christina@communitycouncil.ca
www.communitycouncil.ca www.qolchallenge.ca

Kwan Slams Hagen for Dismissing Call

To Restore Children's Commissioner

NDP MLA says Children's Commissioner was no Paper-Pusher

VANCOUVER - NDP MLA Jenny Kwan today slammed Children
and Family Development Minister Stan Hagen for saying that
restoring an independent Children's Commissioner is a
"bureaucrat's" response to child welfare.

She said that Hagen's remarks show that the Minister is not
up to his job and that he shouldn't be responsible for children
at risk.

"If Stan Hagen thinks that the independent Children's Commissioner
was just another 'bureaucrat', then he really shouldn't be in charge
of a ministry where the lives of children are at stake," said Kwan.

Kwan reminded Hagen that the office of the independent Children's
Commissioner was established in response to the recommendations
of Justice Thomas Gove following the death of Mathew Vaudreuil.
She said that without an independent watchdog, the public has no
way of assessing the adequacy of the government's response to
child deaths and injuries.

"Justice Thomas Gove and the Children's Commissioner were no
paper-pushers,"said Kwan. "They worked day and night to see that
every child death and injury was fully investigated and that we
learned something from the tragic death of Mathew Vaudreuil.
Either Mr. Hagen thinks that work wasn't important, or else the
BC Liberals have something to hide."

In 2002, the Campbell government eliminated the independent
Children's Commissioner and transferred responsibility for investigating
child deaths to the Coroner's Service - despite Gordon Campbell's
own acknowledgment in Opposition that the Coroners' service "is no
substitute" for the reviews recommended by Gove. In addition, by the
government's own admission they have not provided the Coroner's
service with sufficient resources to do the job, and since 2001 has
carried out no full, public investigations.

"After four years of BC Liberal chaos, mismanagement
and cuts at the Ministry of Children and Families, the need
for independent oversight of child protection is BC is greater
than ever," said Kwan.

Organized Crime

Canoe Network - News- Law & Order - Bikers

************************************************
Criminal Intelligence Service Canada - 2003
Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs (OMGs)
Annual Report, 2003
*****************************************************************
The Nathanson Centre for the Study of Organized Crime
and Corruption at York University.

Investigation of Child Deaths & Injuries

- Debate in the Legislature

INVESTIGATION OF CHILD DEATHS AND INJURIES
J. MacPhail: Can the Minister of Children and
Family Development tell us how many children
known to the ministry have died or been injured
since they fired the independent watchdogs?

Can the Minister of Children and Family Development
tell us how many children known to the ministry have
died or been injured since they fired the independent
watchdogs?

Hon. S. Hagen: We are committed to keeping B.C.'s children
safe. We're committed to keeping families together,
but at the end of the day, a child's safety always takes
precedence over everything else.

J. MacPhail: By the minister's own information, the
number of fatalities of children in care rose from the
last year reported from the previous year. They rose
by 33 percent. So I don't know what the minister was
just doing to this House when he made that statement.

Hon. S. Hagen: I also want to remind the House that
we currently have 9,000 children in care, which is
15 percent less than what we had in 2001. That's a stark
contrast to the 45 percent rise in the number of children
in care between '95 and '01.
**************************************************
BC Coroner's Child and Youth Death Statistics
1999 to 2003

The Invisible Children:

The Products of BC's Child Welfare System

Letter to Premier Gordon Campbell about
the Child Welfare system in BC
June 16th, 2004
From Duclie McCallum - former Ombudsmen for
the Province of BC;
Joyce Preston - former Advocate for Children,
Youth & Families;
Cindy Morton - Former Commissioner for Children.

Cody's Death: How Deep an Investigation?
The Fontaine toddler died in a troubled home after
social worker cutbacks. But the Liberals killed the
Children's Commission - and its power to investigate
government fault.

Judith Ince, (Jan. 11^th 2005). The Tyee.ca
****************************************************
Premier Asked to Address Child Welfare Concerns
Mar 8 2005
CBC News VICTORIA – Three former public officials with
years of experience in child welfare are calling on Premier
Gordon Campbell to respond to their concerns about cuts
to B.C.'s child protection system. Former children's
commissioner Cynthia Morton; former child, youth and
family advocate Joyce Preston and former ombudsman
Dulcie McCallum say they're worried child welfare services
in B.C. may now be in an appalling state. But they say
there's no way of knowing, because there are no
independent watchdogs monitoring the situation.
***************************************************
Child Protection Questioned
March 9, 2005
Former children's commissioner Cynthia Morton, former
child, youth and family advocate Joyce Preston and
former ombudsman Dulcie McCallum have gone public
with their concerns over child protection after Premier
Campbell failed to respond to their letter of June 16, 2004.

By David Shreck

**************************************************
Government releases child death numbers
Mar 10 2005
CBC News VICTORIA – The B.C. government has provided
the statistics on how many children are dying in government
care, following pressure from the opposition and the media.
*********************************
Child and Youth Officer for British Columbia
Tel: 1-800-476-3933 or (250) 356-0831
cyo@gov.bc.ca

Hogg is the new Liberal caucas chair

January 19, 2005

Hogg wins popularity contest

Word coming out of today's provincial government caucus meeting,
held at the Fairmont Waterfront in Vancouver, is that former children
and family development minister Gordon Hogg has been elected
the new caucus chair. Mr. Hogg, who resigned from cabinet last year
over the Doug Walls affair, beat out Alberni-Qualicum MLA Gillian
Trumper for the job. He'll be replacing Columbia River-Revelstoke
MLA Wendy McMahon. Mr. Hogg is said to have been Premier
Gordon Campbell's favoured candidate.

Posted by Sean Holman at 06:10 PM | Category: At the Rockpile | TrackBack: (0)

CSSEA CEO is next Boss of CLBC

February 02, 2005

Bets on how long this appointment will last?

Rick Mowles, the Community Society Services Employers' Association's chief executive officer, will soon be heading the
British Columbia government's troubled community living
authority, Public Eye has learned. That job was vacated when
children and family development assistant deputy minister
Phil Goodman took a leave of absence for health reasons.
An announcement is expected as early as today. The authority
was supposed to take over responsibility for government services
for the developmentally disabled in fiscal 2003. But that takeover
was delayed following the forced resignation of its first chief
executive officer Doug Walls last year.

Posted by Sean Holman at 09:09 AM | Category: At the Rockpile | TrackBack: (0)

NDP Rebuttal to the Child And Youth Act enacted May,

The Child and Youth Act
2002-05-09

Excerpts:

Joy McPhail of the NDP:

This legislation repeals two other acts that we're going to spend
some time examining. It repeals the Child, Youth and Family
Advocacy Act and the Children's Commission Act, and this is
what we have left. It's a sorry, sorry, very poor third or fourth
cousin to those two acts.

I was looking through the legislation to see where possibly I could
turn to this legislation and see what this Liberal government's
definition of "best interests of the child" is. And you know what,
Mr. Speaker? It's nowhere in the bill. It's not even mentioned.
It's not even there that the overriding concern should be what's
in the best interests of the child. I thought: well, is that a step
backward, or is it merely carrying on what was in place before?
Here's what the previous child, youth and family advocate's
responsibilities were. "The office of the child, youth and family
advocate is established to ensure that the rights and interests
of children, youths and their families relating to designated
services are protected and advanced and that their views are
heard and considered." That's gone.Next, the advocate was
"to ensure that children, youths and their families have access
to fair, responsive and appropriate complaint and review processes
at all stages in the provision of designated services" - that's gone -
"to provide information and advice to the government and communities
about the availability, effectiveness, responsiveness and relevance of
designated services to children, youths and their families; to promote
and coordinate in communities the establishment of advocacy services
for children, youths and their families." Then lastly, the advocate was
"to perform any other functions assigned to the advocate by an enactment."
That's what's being repealed. All those are gone. How is that a step forward
for children or youths in this province?More importantly, Mr. Speaker,
the advocate reported directly to the Legislature. The advocate was
responsible not to the Attorney General, not to the government of the
day but to the Legislature. The term of the advocate was long enough
so that her or his term would span the electoral cycle and could not become
an election football.

For Our Own Good, Give Canada Away

For Our Own Good, Give Canada Away
The “deep integrationists” plan one happy continent,
but we must teach the little ones.

Tue., Feb. 22, 2005
By Murray Dobbin

The Tyee.ca

An excerpt:

As Canadians watch their daily news -- the same sex
marriage debate, the continuing saga of equalization
payments and the fight over splitting the Department
of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in two --
the future of the country is being decided elsewhere
by unelected corporate power brokers.

This particular future is called “deep integration” and
is backed by the most powerful business groups, think
tanks and foundations in the country.
The most recent manifestation of this betrayal of Canada
is called the Task Force on the Future of North America.
Its leaked report shows the plan in its most refined form
to date.

Sound the alarm.

Murray Dobbin writes a regular State of the Nation column for The
Tyee and is the author of Paul Martin: CEO for Canada?