Defending The Indefensible - Part II

TheBigCon
GoldenEraVille


A while ago we commented on how the Neandercon's big 'Con' - that privatization is both more efficient and actually better at delivering the 'measurable outcomes' than are public institutions - has led to some business model-induced suffocations, if not outright decapitations, of a significant number of important British Columbia government services, departments and ministries.

And nowhere, in our opinion, is this more evident than in the Ministry of Children and Family Development which has been subjected to disaster after disaster because of ideology, pure and simple. We listed the litany here in a post that also mentioned the crusade of a former investigator who worked with the BC coroner named Kathleen Stephany who blew the whistle on the case of a dead little girl who's death was not investigated when all concerned thought it should have been.

Of course, immediately after that the savaging began when Ms. Stephany was dismissed in the Legislature as being 'disgruntled' by the current Soliciter General:

"A. Dix (NDP): Of course, the Solicitor General knows that the children's commissioner had a $4 million budget and that when that office was shut down — contrary to the express promises of the government — and all of those responsibilities were shifted over to the coroner, they shifted only 200,000 of those dollars. I would say, with great respect to the minister, that you'd call a $3.8 million cut on a $4 million budget a pretty big cut. What has happened is that we had 800 case reviews — every case reviewed under the children's commission — and we've had one public report under this process.

[1555]

I wanted to ask the Solicitor General, first of all…. We had a discussion yesterday in question period about a particular case, Savannah Hall, and the Solicitor General at that time made some comments about Kathleen Stephany, who is a former employee of the

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Coroners Service. He called her disgruntled. He discredited her point of view.

Is the Solicitor General aware that in fact the chief coroner of the province describes her work as excellent, that the Ministry of Children and Family Development and the government are using her work, which they have vigorously defended, in court cases? And does he not think it's inappropriate to take shots at people who care about the public interest and are participating in the public debate?

Hon. J. Les (Liberal): With respect to Ms. Stephany, I am personally not particularly aware of her work. Nor should I be, I would suggest. But I am aware that she is currently undertaking proceedings for wrongful dismissal, and I draw from that that she is, in fact, disgruntled.

2005 Legislative Session: First Session, 38th Parliament
HANSARD, Nov 3, 2005

Well, despite the nascent smear campaign against her, it now looks like the dam that Ms. Stephany poked a tiny hole in has burst wide open.

How did that happen, you might be asking yourself?

Well, it looks like the Province's chief coronor, Terry Smith, took a good, hard look at himself in the mirror and has decided to do the right thing:

"B.C.'s Chief Coroner has revealed that reviews of about 80 children's deaths were halted when the Campbell government eliminated the office of children's commissioner in 2002 – replacing it with the child and youth officer."

So, how is that for a measurable outcome?

Eighty deaths that have not been investigated, all of which occurred prior to the elimination of the independent oversight of the children's commissioner in 2002.

But have no fear, the very same Soliciter General, as of Nov 14, 2005 (ie. 11 days after he dismissed Ms. Stephany as disgruntled and indicated that he didn't feel that he should even be particularly aware of her work), is now on the case.

Solicitor General John Les says he only learned of all this a month ago, and that he asked the chief coroner to review the files.

"The bottom line is this. I want those files completed and I want them completed as soon as this can be done." (Les said).

And the 11 day 'month' notwithstanding, how, exactly, will those files be 'completed' ?

And what of all those children that have been lost since 2002, after the Children's Commissioner was eliminated?

What about them?

Do we even have files for all of them?

And if Mr. Les were to tell us that he is 'not aware of any such files' , has he given us any reason to be confident that this is indeed the case?

Based on his previous public statements on this subject, I would respectfully like to suggest that he has not.

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