VICTORIA— The B.C. Liberals are failing to provide appropriate care for children and youth who have multiple vulnerabilities according to a new report from the Representative for Children and Youth.

“When it comes to the most vulnerable children-in-care, B.C. Liberal government decisions are financially motivated rather what is in the best interests of the child,” said New Democrat children and families spokesperson Doug Donaldson. “The repercussions of this cruel and shortsighted approach are wasted human potential and incredible costs incurred in adulthood in the courts, the medical system and in social services.”

The report, Who Cares? B.C. Children with Complex Medical, Psychological and Developmental Needs and their Families Deserve Better, makes a compelling case that the B.C. Liberal government is failing to place children with complex needs in appropriate care.

“The representative points out that right next door in Calgary, the province of Alberta is able to support an agency that provides a broad spectrum of care that can help these children, yet here in B.C. we have nothing that comes close to the quality and range of service that is available in just that one city.

“That is totally unacceptable and falls directly at the feet of this B.C. Liberal government,” said Donaldson.

“The individual cases presented in the report read like something from a Dickens’ novel hearkening back to how vulnerable children were treated more than 150 years ago during the industrial revolution.  The neglect and disregard for even the Ministry of Children and Family Development’s own basic standards, like the importance of connecting First Nations children-in-care with their culture, is astounding and disturbing.”

Donaldson noted that this is another example of how the B.C. Liberals tell people what they want to hear, then do what they want.

“The B.C. Liberals know what to say about protecting B.C.’s most vulnerable children, but then they do what they want,” said Donaldson.

“After every single report from the representative, the B.C. Liberals promise to do better,  and after every single report we see the tragedies, neglect and mismanagement continue. Enough is enough, the representative’s report needs to be acted on immediately.

“These children and their families deserve better.”

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