Child welfare system overhaul long overdue.
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Wasn't it Judge Ted Hughes who stated that the BC Liberals Gordon Campbell took the knife too far with the welfare of the children? Nothing learned from that debacle.
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Beating on their chest about what PostMedia achieved in their investigative series on "aging-out" earned them a Michener Award nomination, that was a NOMINATION not an award to take home.
"The government did make some modest contributions to support teens transitioning from foster care." BULLSHIT The Vancouver Sun contributed diddly squat to shift the BC Liberal government why else would they sit around on their laurels, a fig leaf, of a nomination.
It boggles the mind that the Editor dares to use a phrase like: "Let us be blunt" and then jumps to two possible conclusions on how Alex Gervais died:
"He jumped or fell do his death from the window of a hotel where he was not supposed to be housed..... etc."
There is a third option, He Was Pushed by a third party.
Being blunt should have required the Publisher of the Vancouver Sun to be much more clearer to the premier of British Columbia and therefore the public. It was the "old system" of micro manager premier Gordon Muir Campbell who started the cutting, cutting, cutting of monies to fund the children and used those funds to balance his budget which has, should be, haunting his successor, Christy Jo-Anne Clark but who has only followed up with more tight fistiness, more frightfulness than El Gordo.
Shameful and disgusting.
The Buck Does Not Stop At The Premier's Desk! Never has!
It's obvious that Alex Gervais death was the result of a FALL from his hotel window!!! but to then determine that he jumped???? without a witness for corroboration? He was pushed by the system, without a witness, pushed by a corrupt child care system ...... run by the system's Minister.
If there was a Witness, in the room, would the system have stopped the attempt, or texted with JUMP!!! JUMP!! One less; more money; for the system!
The Vancouver Sun were so close to win the Michener-Deacon Fellowship award but lost and then gave the thumbs up to their boss for tenth position.
We would like to thank the Michener Awards for this nomination, and our boss Harold Munro for his continued support of investigative journalism. (aging-out)
Investigative journalist is someone who is actively involved in prevention of teenagers dying by the dozen. Investigative journalism is not a one month, one week, gig.
This, is investigative journalism??? Technology use in the classroom !!!!! Are there windows in the Quebec hotel classroom; one student per room; no peer visits?
The Michener-Deacon Fellowship for investigative reporting is awarded to veteran Radio Canada journalist Marie-France Belanger, based in Montreal for her project entitled “Le programme de tableaux Numériques Interactifs au Québec” (The program charts Interactive Digital Quebec). Belanger will examine the use of technology in the classroom.Investigative journalism by the Vancouver Sun should have least solved the mystery of Alex Gervais death. Pushed by the Man or pushed by the system put in place by the Man.
Applicants for the fellowship are expected to undertake a project that aspires to the criteria of the annual Michener Award for journalism with its emphasis on identifiable benefits for the public good, improvements in public policy, ethical standards, corporate governance or the lives of Canadians.
If Alex Gervais had lived, he would have had the right to VOTE, someday, a VOTE to achieve change.
Liberals 'took the knife too far,' investigator says
The
safety net protecting B.C.'s most vulnerable children has been ravaged
by cutbacks and "buffeted by an unmanageable degree of change" created
by the provincial government, an independent inquiry concluded Friday.
VICTORIA -- The safety net protecting B.C.'s most vulnerable children has been ravaged by cutbacks and "buffeted by an unmanageable degree of change" created by the provincial government, an independent inquiry concluded Friday.
In a scathing critique of the Liberal government's stewardship of the child welfare system, former judge Ted Hughes said the government "took the knife too far" after it was elected in 2001 and must now restabilize the system that has more than 9,000 children under its care.
After the tragic deaths of aboriginal toddlers and a scandal involving the loss of more than 700 files concerning their deaths, Hughes also called for appointment of a Representative for Children and Youth. That independent office, which he sees being held for five-year terms by a non-partisan appointee who can stay above the political fray, will be the voice for the neediest children. The office would be able to identify major trends and in special cases demand full inquiries into a death.
"In the best interests of our province's most precious assets -- our children and youth -- I call upon all members of B.C.'s government to move towards substantial compliance with the recommendations in my report," said Hughes, who was pressed into service by the Liberals.
Snip
But Hughes didn't spare the premier.
"I cannot agree with the premier's earlier assessment that budget cuts did not contribute to the failure of the transition process ...," wrote Hughes. "As I have commented throughout this report, the impact of budget constraints reverberated throughout the child welfare system from 2002 until recently. Those responsible for the transition were under pressure to meet deep spending cuts across the board and as a result, this small program [to review the children's deaths] got lost in the shuffle."
Hughes also urges the government to hire more aboriginal social workers and child-care experts. That is crucial, he said, because about 50 per cent of the 9,000 children in government care are of aboriginal descent, even though natives represent only nine per cent of the population.
"I am disheartened by the rate of suicide among young aboriginal people and the ever-increasing numbers of aboriginal children being taken into care," he said.
Hughes also made a strong pitch that the first children's representative, or one of the two deputies working with him or her, be an aboriginal, to improve the child welfare system's appreciation of the complexities and social challenges facing first nations communities and families.
"At the very least, one of these three senior people must be aboriginal," said Hughes. "When I say aboriginal, I mean not only a person of aboriginal heritage but one with a track record of involvement in aboriginal communities, who understands aboriginal children and youth, and has a direct experience or at least deep understanding of life on a reserve."
Snip
