Families disowned?

I skimmed the press release. Assuming it's 100% honest, totally disgusting what Rich Coleman is doing. And some want him as Premier? Huh?

I won't say Mary Polak would never go that far considering the EIBI shutdown but I still have doubts she would try to mute disabled people like that. As far as me... I'd never go that far. Too many BC voters & friends of BC are asleep, and so are their MLAs.

Josef K, are you a Canadian citizen? Do you live in BC? Can you legally vote in BC, or Canada? There are some who question whether you even live here.

Are you on Mary Polak's payroll, or something? Or just a really BIG fan of hers? Since you follow her career so closely, you most certainly know that Ms. Polak will do what is best for herself, what is best for her political career and ambitions and she will do what she is told to do because it is NOT politically expedient, nor does it make for career success to opppose Campbell's regime. She has little else to fall back on, so she will do what she's told.

Ms. Polak is NOT in charge of MCFD anymore than any other former Minister has been. She, like the others, has quite simply no competency to run this complex Ministry. And she, like the others, has serious limitations to understanding the real world impacts of the decisions made because they have never worked in the broad field of child welfare in BC.

The power is with the Deputy Ministers, who report to the Premier's office. Ms. Polak will be the public face of the terrible decisions made by DM Du Toit, as have her predecessors, several of whom quit politics if you remember. Ms. Polak will be remembered by many for the harm that will be done under her term as Minister. As mentioned before, being Minister of CFD is the kiss of political death. As a long time observer it's not entirely fair to be blamed for the incompetence of one's DM, but that is how it works. Unfortunately for Ms. Polak, there is no other Ministry so lacking in competent internal leadership as MCFD. This is a matter of public record in report after report and critical analysis available about the harm done to BC's kids as a result. No amount of spin can take away the terrible and brutal outcomes of the failure of BC's child welfare system. Now Ms. Polak will be part of that legacy.

Hey I am no expert, but I suggest to all who contribute usefull comment on this forum that Josef K is a troll. Net trolls love attention, love their own message and LOVE getting a reaction. How else to explain some of the utter nonsense he posts ( Polak, full afterburners, CF-18s, ad nauseam ) My suggestion, ignore completley. No feeding the troll, just let him love his own useles messaging into a vacuum.................IMHO

What we can all agree on is that what Mr Coleman has done by removing the family voice in the governance of Community Living BC is deplorable, troubling and deeply puzzling.

What's troubling is that it's part of a much broader trend: elimination of elected boards for health authorities and Translink, legislation empowering the province to override municipal decisions, the decision to override the BCUC ruling, legislation empowering government to forcibly move homeless people against their will, and the proposed elimination of local school boards.

It's a trend that's been accompanied by the emasculation of the role of MLAs, by a clampdown of control over most information that comes from government and by a growing disinclination to even go through the motions of public consultation on many key matters of public policy.

It reflects a frightening level of arrogance: a view that only the Premier and his Cabinet know what's good for us and that they know better than us what we need, even if they have never walked a step, far less a mile, in shoes that remotely resemble our own.

Because the decision to eliminate the family voice on CLBC was not necessary by any measure. The former board appointment formula balanced the requirement for family representation with the freedom to choose the rest of the board based purely on governance experience and capacity. To suggest that government would have difficulty finding 5 competent individuals who are related to the 50,000 adults with developmental disabilities in this province is nothing short of silly. And nothing was stopping Mr Coleman and his Cabinet colleagues from appointing a board comprised entirely of loyal BC Liberals, whether they were family members or retired CEOs (or both).

There is no evidence that the current CLBC board is responsible for the organization's failure to meet the needs of British Columbians with developmental disabilities. That board inherited a mess, a flawed structure and mandate and above all, an inadequate budget to meet the needs of its clients.

If anything, it is the board's accomplishments in providing a more solid evidence base for what is needed to protect and support vulnerable adults in BC that have proved to be its undoing. So what's especially troubling is that this action comes just as those at the helm of CLBC were finally doing something right, in terms of serving the interests of those whom they were appointed to serve.

But still, why go to all the trouble of passing this new legislation? It's not like Minister Coleman doesn't have enough urgent business to occupy his time or that he could not find five party loyalists who are also family members to continue to do his bidding on the CLBC board.

What could be so important about eliminating a family voice on CLBC that it would require the effort to squeeze this through in the pre-holiday rush? Why the total secrecy? Why would a smart politician deliberately provoke an entire community with an action guaranteed to draw widespread political flack?

Well said Chris and BCLS.

a) Well said dawn steele.

b) Me a troll? Regulars know better and know I'm critical of Min. Mary Polak's equity in da wrong direction on EIBI due to budget pressures and increasingly out-of-touch Finance Ministry + Premier's Office. I'm growing increasingly critical of the BCLibs on freedom of speech issues as well. That said, for anyone to go to the NDP is to right now support socialism instead of a more decent freedom alternative.

Josef, you may be somewhat disillusioned to learn that Ms Polak personally informed me and other parents at a recent meeting that the Premier, Finance Ministry or Treasury Board are not to blame for her Ministry's budget challenges. She said she is satisfied that her budget is adequate and that the cuts to autism services are justifiable.

I was pretty shocked.

And I agree that no party has yet offered us a palative alternative, although the NDP members have at least stood up and publicly protested cuts like EIBI, which is more than any BC Liberal MLA has yet had the courage to do publicly (although Ms Polak also acknowledged that some of her caucus colleagues have raised concerns internally about the autism cuts, and at least one federal Liberal has spoke up publicly).

I think it's incumbent on all of those who have political connections to work internally within the party of their choice to press for reforms that will offer us more balanced political agendas and for the election of individual candidates who have the backbone to put the interests of the people and communities who elected them first. IMHO, the status quo is largely about serving those who buy the seats via massive political donations and/or about serving party interests.

Change is urgently needed and it is entirely within our own grasp, irrespective of political affiliations or loyalties.

dawn steele | November 23, 2009 11:35 AM | Reply

"Somewhat disillusioned"?

Try shocked. I've been reading you for a while and know you're awfully close to if not honest. I would like the audio of that meeting made public.

Having Aspergers' and being the resident Polakite to the point of nuisance to sme, I'm asking our man Sean to inquire about this please. Oh, I am stoked. I went out on a very far limb for my hero and presuming what you are telling us is truthful, she thinks we should just have one low, flat standard & that's it.

I'll stop there with a thank you :-).