B.C. Liberals Deny Children and Youth Representative's Budget Request
Carole James says vindictive decision hurts at-risk children
VICTORIA – The Campbell Liberals’ decision to deny the budget request of B.C.’s Representative for Children and Youth is a vindictive move that will hurt the most vulnerable children in B.C., NDP Leader Carole James said today.
Carole JamesEarlier today, the Liberal-dominated Legislative Finance Committee announced a $750,000 cut to the budget request put forward by Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, B.C.’s Representative for Children and Youth. The New Democrats on the committee supported the Representative’s request.
“Once again, the Campbell government is failing children,” said James. “The Representative for Children and Youth needs these resources to fulfill her mandate, but the Liberals want to play politics and punish anyone who criticizes their government.”
Last week, Ms. Turpel-Lafond said the government was not doing enough to implement the Hughes recommendations to protect children. She said that of the 62 recommendations that flowed from the death of a Port Alberni child, only 18 had been acted on.
Nicholas SimonsNicholas Simons, the NDP critic for Children and Family Development, said that after eight months on the job, the Representative assessed her operation and came forward with a reasonable budget request designed to properly meet the mandate given to her by government.
Ms. Turpel-Lafond told the government that failure to provide the necessary funding would result in her office "not being able to investigate and review the deaths and injuries of children.”
“Gordon Campbell happily approves hundreds of millions of dollars to cover convention centre cost overruns and fancy renovations to ministry offices, but can’t find the money to protect children,” said Simons. “It’s a measure of his arrogance and misplaced priorities.”
James and Simons called on the Premier and Finance Minister to reverse the decision and provide the Representative for Children and Youth with her full budget request.
