[LabComm] Connections Newsletter Oct 20, 2006

Mon Oct 23 17:41:14 PDT 2006

Connections Newsletter Oct 20, 2006

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October 20, 2006 
<a name="top">In this Issue</a>
<a href="#homelessness">B.C. Liberals to blame for homelessness crisis</a>
<a href="#job-placement">Brar asks for investigation of job-placement programs</a>
<a href="#theweek">This week...</a>
<h1><a name="homelessness">B.C. Liberals to blame for homelessness crisis</a></h1> 
It's homelessness awareness week this week and NDP Leader Carole James says it's the B.C. Liberals who are most in need of awareness of the problem.
James said B.C.'s homelessness crisis is the result of mean-spirited Liberal policies and says the government's housing strategy of rent supplements looks more like the Campbell government is concerned with the political problem than the social or economic one.
"The homelessness crisis is compounded by a lack of affordable housing," James said. "But the B.C. Liberals refuse to listen, and have instead put forward half-measures."
It doesn't help, James said, that Liberal policies have hurt the neediest British Columbians the most. They cancelled the province's social housing program, restricted access to income assistance to the most vulnerable and watched as the B.C. Housing waitlist grew to more than 14,000.
"Homelessness has doubled in the lower mainland, and the Liberal response to that is a half-hearted rent subsidy," James said.
"A rent subsidy doesn't help people who can't find a home in the first place," James said.
James said there are signs that the problem will only get worse. Despite an economy growing thanks to low interest rates and high worldwide commodity prices, B.C.'s gap between the rich and poor is the worst in Canada.
"The B.C. Liberals don't care about the poor," James said. "They've created this problem and they have shown no sign of wanting to fix it."
Click <a href="http://bcndpcaucus.ca/carole_james/audio/premier_campbell_continues_to_ignore_homelessness_crisis_james">here</a> to listen to Carole's radio message on the homelessness crisis.
<a href="#top">Top</a>
<h1><a name="job-placement">Brar asks for investigation of job-placement programs</a></h1> 
The B.C. Liberals gave away millions of dollars to their friends and British Columbians deserve to know why, Jagrup Brar said.
Documents obtained through Freedom of Information requests show the government paid $19 million to B.C. Liberal-friendly firms to end job-placement programs and then immediately re-awarded the same work to the same companies.
"The government needs to immediately order a full and independent investigation to find out why this money was paid," said Brar, the New Democrat Critic for Employment and Income Assistance.
"There was an appalling lack of oversight of these programs," Brar said. "It looks like the Liberals gave money away for nothing. British Columbians need to know why this happened."
The prime beneficiaries of these contracts were West Coast Group and GTI Hiring. The two firms donated a combined total of more than $100,000 to the B.C. Liberals since 2001.
These programs have been poorly managed from start to finish, Brar said. 
"We've heard stories from former clients who received absolutely no benefit from the program â€“ who found work on their own â€“ but the company was paid the same as if they had actually been helpful," Brar said.
"One client told us she was given a $100 grocery voucher in exchange for signing a form saying the company had helped her find work," Brar said. "The company was paid up to $4,300 and they weren't even responsible for helping the client get work."
Brar said these two stories -- the payment to end contracts and companies charging the government despite not actually helping their clients -- show a terrible lack of oversight of these programs.
"This may just be the tip of the iceberg," Brar said. "We need a full, independent investigation to find out how poorly the programs were actually managed."
<a href="#top">Top</a>
<h1><a name="theweek">This Week...</a></h1>
<h2>B.C. Liberals Falling Behind in the Fight Against Drunk Driving</h2>
The B.C. Liberal government is falling behind in the fight against drunk driving, NDP critic for Public Safety Mike Farnworth says. <a href="http://bcndpcaucus.ca/news_room/b_c_liberals_falling_behind_in_the_fight_against_drunk_driving">Read More</a>
<h2>Paramedic vacancies unfilled for up to four years</h2>
More than a dozen interior communities have had vacant paramedic positions for as long as four years and Adrian Dix says that is a direct result of B.C. Liberal policies. <a href="http://bcndpcaucus.ca/news_room/paramedic_vacancies_unfilled_for_up_to_four_years">Read More</a>
<h2>Commitment to ferry safety must begin with Falcon, says Coons</h2>
Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon needs to step in and ensure safety is a priority at B.C. Ferries, Gary Coons says. <a href="http://bcndpcaucus.ca/news_room/commitment_to_ferry_safety_must_begin_with_falcon_says_coons">Read More</a>
<h2>Education Minister Freezes Funds, School Boards Face Tough Choices</h2>
Education Minister Shirley Bond has frozen annual maintenance funds to school boards, leaving them to make tough choices about program cuts, NDP Education Critic David Cubberley says.<a href="http://bcndpcaucus.ca/news_room/education_minister_freezes_funds_school_boards_face_tough_choices">Read More</a>

<a href="http://bcndpcaucus.ca/news_room/archive">Click Here to Read More B.C. NDP News Releases</a>
<h2>Constituency Report!</h2>
Constituency Report is your chance to hear your MLA talk about issues important to your community. Click <a href="http://bcndpcaucus.ca/constituency_report_0">Here</a> for a full schedule.
<a href="#top">Top</a>
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