Nov
2
Words not supported with actions
Nov 2014
MLA Report
By Carole James
In its Throne Speech 10 months ago, the government promised to move towards a “violence-free B.C. and ensure women, including Aboriginal and vulnerable women, have the support they need.” But its actions since then do not match the intent of the words. It's part of a troubling pattern of the Premier saying what she thinks people want to hear, and then not delivering.
In the last few months, the government has cut the budget for the Highway of Tears Task Force by 84 percent. And it has utterly failed to act on even the most urgent recommendations made by Wally Oppal in the 2012 Report of the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry.
One of the priorities Mr. Oppal identified is a shuttle bus along Highway 16, the infamous Highway of Tears, yet the government has failed to provide even this basic, life-saving service. Instead of taking action to solve the murders and missing persons cases along the highway, government has cut $1.4 million from police funding. That means the loss of more than a dozen investigators.
Earlier this year, I drove the highway as Critic for Children and Family Development, along with my Opposition MLA colleagues Maurine Karagianis and Jennifer Rice. What we found was very troubling.
As we drove, we noticed there was no cell phone service for hours at a time. We talked about how isolated it was if you were hitchhiking or if you were alone and your car broke down. Along the highway, we stopped and spoke with local First Nations and civic leaders about how crucial a bus service is to their communities and how many people, especially women, have no options to buy food or see a doctor except to hitchhike, often with their children along with them.
This area is remote, with few services, and there are long distances between communities. People on limited incomes with no vehicle often have no way of getting to medical appointments, to buy groceries, go to family gatherings, and other essential services and critical supports for daily living.
My colleagues and I created a video showing our experience and our conversations with people living along the Highway of Tears. You can watch it at: http://bcndpcaucus.ca/news/video-new-democrat-mlas-tour-highway-tears/
When we returned to the Legislature, we asked the government more than a dozen times about implementing a shuttle bus along Highway 16. To date they have taken no action.
BC has the highest number of unsolved cases of missing and murdered Aboriginal women in the country. It’s shameful for the government to be cutting the resources needed to solve these cases and bring closure to grieving families who have never learned what happened to their loved ones.
We live here on the South Island, but we're all part of one big community. As British Columbians and Canadians, we must take responsibility to support each other and address a problem that needs to be fixed.
The Opposition has long supported a national inquiry to address the issue of missing and murdered Aboriginal women. However, it's not enough to simply have an inquiry, as the BC government did, then ignore the recommendations. There needs to be action and we will keep pushing this government to take that action.
As always, I appreciate hearing your views on this topic and any others of interest to you and your family. Please contact me at:
1084 Fort Street, Victoria, BC V8V 3K4
Phone: 250 952-4211