tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400574.post114115284961744665..comments2024-03-28T04:04:03.006-07:00Comments on Paying attention: Budget cuts, not child’s death, preoccupied ministryUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400574.post-1141231907744274202006-03-01T08:51:00.000-08:002006-03-01T08:51:00.000-08:00Sometimes you have to say: "We told you so!" becau...Sometimes you have to say: "We told you so!" because it's the only way to learn from experience.<BR/><BR/>Between 2001-2005, with no children's commissioner, no official opposition, no powerful provincial lobby groups, service providers too afraid to speak up and media that generally only cover issues served up on a platter, it was left largely to the odd parent or ad hoc critic like myself to try to sound the alarm about what was happening in this Ministry.<BR/><BR/>We told everyone who would listen that the experts warned MCFD in 2002 that concurrent budget cuts and restructuring would cause chaos.<BR/><BR/>When it happened anyway, we warned over and over that the Ministry was paralyzed by the inevitable deepening chaos and that people were being hurt as a result.<BR/><BR/>But our system is not set up to take individual critics too seriously, especially on complex issues like these. I tried to get Jane Morley's office to take up our concerns, as I tried to enlist everyone else's support. A few did what they could: NDP's Jenny Kwan tried to raise some questions in the House, Sean Holman finally investigated the Doug Walls shennanigans and Paul, who has consistently used his columns to highlight the goings-on in this Ministry. They tried their best too, but it wasn't enough.<BR/><BR/>We also warned over and over that a succession of Ministers, under the direction of the Premier, were not responding by seriously trying to solve any of the problems, but by relying on "managing communications" to do damage control and pretend all was well. There never was and there still is no desire to improve services for MCFD's clients. The goal is and has been to cut costs while trying to keep a lid on complaints and Ms Morley has been an integral part of that effort. <BR/><BR/>With a functioning Official Opposition, we are now seeing increasing pressure for real change, but I still see no evidence that Premier Campbell has been convinced that communications won't be enough to "manage" this issue, and that what is needed is meaningful change.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400574.post-1141230929590622212006-03-01T08:35:00.000-08:002006-03-01T08:35:00.000-08:00Did Ms. Morely explain why her office dodged the r...Did Ms. Morely explain why her office dodged the request to do a systemic review of band services and the ministry for Children and Families responsibility to ensure at minimum, ministry standards for care, risk assessment, placement decisions prior to the death of Sherry Charlie? While the kith and kin placement policy may have been new under that name the practice was not new. It had already failed with fatality outcomes in cases previously reviewed by the children’s commission. Again, it is not a case of not knowing, or not enough data, or poor review standards after the fact; it is a long-standing decision to ignore child outcomes in favor of political convenience and correctness.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400574.post-1141227807902429542006-03-01T07:43:00.000-08:002006-03-01T07:43:00.000-08:00Organizational FailureDid Jane Morley’s report on ...<B>Organizational Failure</B><BR/><BR/>Did Jane Morley’s report on the death of Sherry Charlie address Nicholas Simons' <I>shifting</I> mandate?<BR/><BR/>It has been widely reported that Nicholas Simons was ordered repeatedly (by who<B>?</B>) to change the direction of his report. This change in mandate goes far beyond the "organizational failure" cited in Morley's review.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400574.post-1141185701108698142006-02-28T20:01:00.000-08:002006-02-28T20:01:00.000-08:00Social conservatives talk a good ball game when it...Social conservatives talk a good ball game when it comes to family values but when the real game begins they are to be found in the clubhouse playing cards.Mr. Beer N. Hockeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07184518909716677938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400574.post-1141163204214827782006-02-28T13:46:00.000-08:002006-02-28T13:46:00.000-08:00Weren't many of the changes the government made re...Weren't many of the changes the government made recommended by Ms. MorleyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com