VICTORIA— A new report shows the B.C. Liberal government under Premier Christy Clark is failing to ensure women in our province aren’t falling behind when it comes to housing, poverty, and access to justice, says New Democrat spokesperson for women Maurine Karagianis.

“Premier Christy Clark and the B.C. Liberals are simply not there for women in B.C,” said Karagianis. “Whether it’s on housing, poverty, or access to justice, the B.C. Liberal government is failing to ensure women aren’t falling behind.”

West Coast LEAF’s annual report on the government’s compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women was released on Monday. The report shows that the government is failing to meet its obligations under the convention.

Clark’s Liberals received failing grades on a number of issues. These included being the only province in the country to refuse to bring in a poverty reduction plan, failing to act on housing security, and refusing to fully implement all of the recommendations made by the Missing Women’s Commission of Inquiry.

“The B.C. Liberals were actually downgraded from a ‘D’ to an ‘F’ when it comes to dealing with the tragedy of missing and murdered women,” said Karagianis.

Karagianis noted the report zeroed in on the fact that the Liberals “intentionally deleted email records related to the issue of violence along Highway 16 to avoid disclosing them”.

“There are simple but important ways that the B.C. Liberals could act to improve the lives of women in this province, yet the B.C. Liberals won’t even acknowledge that there is a problem,” said Karagianis. “When it comes to real action to improve the lives of women, Premier Clark is nowhere to be found.”