Baby steps

In January, the province's independent child protection watchdog Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond suggested the legislature's select standing committee on children and youth should develop recommendations for a poverty reduction plan. And she further suggested the striking of a subcommittee to consult with stakeholders about those recommendations. But, yesterday, Joan McIntyre - the committee's chair - announced those suggestions were outside its terms reference. Instead, the committee will be holding a meeting on child poverty, featuring appearances by "key stakeholders and expert witnesses." So does that mean the committee won't be developing recommendations for a poverty reduction plan? Well, here's what Ms. McIntyre had to say on her way into a caucus meeting.