21 babies who might still be here were less important to the BC Liberal regime that rewarding their senior bureaucrats with "living allowances" and bonuses for keeping staffing levels low and meeting targets out of the Premier's office.
Now they turn around and launch a task force & inquiry when this administration created the conditions where BC has led child poverty in Canada for seven years in a row and the Minister in charge of Children & Families publically states BC doesn't need a poverty reduction plan. This kind of structural violence and negligence towards children protected under the Charter of Rights & Freedoms is what should be under scrutiny and legally actionable.
But some tough talk is reserved for us, as citizens too.
Where are the cries about the dead babies, casualties and collateral damage of a government that set up these conditions?
Where is the inquiry into the children who have died in the care & custody of MCFD/the BC government?
Where is the inquiry into dead children and youth who have been involved with MCFD, or trying to get services from them? Who weren't taken into care & died?
Where is the inquiry into the children who have been critically injured or died in placements that MCFD put them into? Or in Child in Home of Relative homes?
Every single one of us should write our MLA and tell them we won't stand for BC's kids to be treated this way anymore and that unless there is action, they've lost our vote.
Find your MLA here and show that BC's kids mean at least as much as dogs.
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New inquiry raises more questions
VICTORIA/CKNW(AM980)
Charmaine de Silva | Email news tips to charmaine.desilva@corusent.com
2/3/2011
In light of the creation of the task force, some are asking...does the Province care more about dead dogs than dead babies?
The BC NDP's critic for Children and Families, Maurine Karagianis, says its great that the Province has moved quickly to launch the task force into the slaughter of dead dogs near Whistler.
But she has some questions for the Premier, "I'm curious why the Province hasn't taken action yet on the request by the Children's Representative to set up a legislative process for child poverty, and for resources to deal with child death reviews."
Karagianis says the Government's inaction is shameful.
Just last week BC's Child and Youth representative renewed calls for a poverty reduction plan.
4 comments:
The children died one by one and there was little reporting on it. People didn't pay attention.
The dogs, well it made a big splash.
Children don't vote so the government isn't going to do much about that.
If the government doesn't want to hold an investigation into the deaths of the 21 children it maybe time to hold a Citizens Investigation. A group of citizens who have experience in the field of children could be convened and hold hearings in cities across the province. People could simply go and make presentations.
The Ctizens Investigation could also hear from people regarding the impact of 7 yrs of having the highest child poverty rate in Canada, has had on children.
I am sure we could find a few pediatricians, social workers, teachers, activists, who would be willing to sit as a panel and then issue a report.
Simply by going from town to town the Investigative committee would be able to expose the problems for children in this province. The mainstream media might not want to cover it but many other independant papers would, not to mention the "social media".
As to the financing of such an endeavor, there would most likely be organizations and private individuals who would make financial contributions. I certainly would.
People should remember, if children aren't treated well they can grow up to have anti social tendancies. People with anti-social tendancies are more likely to mug seniors and most of us in the province are aging baby boomers.
You might consider this to be exercise in self preservation.
If we want to do something for children, we might start by signing the recall petitions. If nothing else the Liberals deserve to be turfed from office for their treatment of the children in this province.
Or better yet, charging the Liberals with child abuse and neglect.
So instead of the BC Liberals have the BC NDP, how stupid would that be?
If you had a vote for the BC Liberal leader and wanted to use it to cause the most amount of damage to the party, who would you vote for?
Beckett, good question. In spite of Clark's popularity with the populace, I think voting for her for the next party leader would do the most harm to the party. It's pretty clear she will try to go for a snap election.
She doesn't have the support of the current MLA's. She has no support in any ridings right now because she's not a sitting MLA.
The BC Rail scandal will be a huge election issue that will dog her & the party. People close to her were just too deeply involved for this to go away & she was Deputy Premier at the time.
Clark's perceived popularity among voters is being over-played. Sign up issues dog her campaign, her flip flopping on issues makes her look wishy washy and lack of a specific platform will hurt her.
Progressive Tory - I think many BC citizens would now rather choose the NDP over the 10 years of a mess the BC Liberals have given us. Most regular citizens are much worse off under the BC Liberal regime's disastrous mismanagement, incompetence and lack of public policy vision. 10 years into their administration and the hollow shell that is now our government is very apparent to many. Health care has never been more inaccessible and the de-centralization to Health Authorities has been one of the worst decisions they've made and cost BC taxpayers billions.
We have far fewer public resources and assets and privatizations of former Crown agencies like BC Ferries, increased gas & hydro costs are festering wounds on the BC Liberals. Citizens & voters are tired of it and can't afford to have these clowns steering the ship anymore.
e.a.f. - In theory the idea of a provincial inquiry is a good one. I do not think anyone would be prepared for the devastating stories that would come to light and there would be a responsibility to help the wounded citizens who do come forward which would be beyond the scope of such a panel.
The office of the Representative for Children & Youth is as effective as it can be and the work it produces is the highest quality in Canada.
Until there is a change in the senior management and adequate funding, resourcing & staffing of BC's child welfare system absolutely nothing will change. More children will be the collateral damage of a government that doesn't appear to give a damn about them.
In other jurisdictions, the only thing that has led to systemic improvements have been class action and other civil litigation. MCFD is already sued regularly, citizens just don't hear about it because the BC government covers it up.
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