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Three years ago, then finance minister Carole Taylor said the provincial budget was "for the little ones."
The Liberal government's cost-cutting and mismanagement of support for children and families had just been set out in Ted Hughes' report.
Children would now be the focus, said Taylor.
But this is a short-attention span government. It's no different when it comes to children in B.C.
The new budget freezes the Children and Families Ministry budget for this year -- and the next two years.
Costs, obviously, are increasing, despite a planned wage freeze.
Demand for services and support is rising. That's normal in a recession. Families who have been getting by can be pushed over the edge when jobs vanish.
...
The ministry plans to fund fewer child care spaces this year than it did last year, with no expansion forecast for the next two years. Bad news for parents on long waiting lists for care (although full-day kindergarten might help some).
....
Given evidence that the ministry is not achieving its goals, a budget that provides no more resources and reduced staff levels seems inappropriate.
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Taken together, the performance plans and budget are discouraging. There is little evidence of progress.
And there is less evidence in the budget of real plans to do better. Resources are frozen or cut. Welfare and minimum wage levels are frozen. There are no targets or plans to deal with B.C.'s six-year record as the worst province in Canada for child poverty.
The 2006 budget might have been "for the little ones."
This one sure wasn't.
- reprinted from the Victoria Times-Colonist