Reality Check: Christy Clark’s slash and starve approach to MCFD is hurting children

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Christy_Clark_speakingPremier Christy Clark is an expert at taking credit for things she didn’t do, and deflecting blame for problems she caused. She is at it again with a claim that former B.C. Liberal Premier Gordon Campbell is to blame for the problems of our child protection system today.

While Gordon Campbell did a poor job of managing child protection, Christy Clark has only made things worse.

Claim: “In response to questions about the state of government funding for children in care, Ms. Clark suggested B.C.’s children’s ministry was in turmoil until she became Premier in 2011, but that she has been working to get it ‘back to stability.’”- Globe and Mail, Dec. 10, 2015

Fact: The number of front line workers fell every year after Christy Clark became premier – until they reached their lowest levels ever in 2013. There are still fewer social workers on the front lines than there were when Christy Clark took office.

Quote from New Democrat spokesperson for children and family development, Doug Donaldson:

“Many children have died tragically in the care of the government, including Paige, Nick Lang, Carly Fraser, Alex Malamalatabua and Alex Gervais. Christy Clark’s government failed to provide them with the resources and care that they needed. It’s an insult to their families and an insult to their memories for Christy Clark to try to shift the blame for her failures onto someone else.”