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.