The Liberal government’s bookkeeping practices are “unacceptable” according to an Auditor General’s report that called the government’s accounting methods misleading.
This government was elected on the promise of being the most open and accountable government in history. Christy Clark was part of that team, but now that she is in charge her government’s actions are not matching their words.
The report shows more than a $20 billion jump in contractual obligations this year, bringing the total obligations to $80 billion. The auditor general recommends that the government disclose much greater detail about those contracts, including key renewal and termination options, and conditions that may impact future cash flow or service delivery. One project that was criticized specifically was the Port Mann Bridge project. In this case, the government recorded the debt as self-supported rather than tax-payer supported debt.
Our Finance Critic Bruce Ralston also pointed to concerns addressed in the report regarding B.C. Hydro. “One of the things the B.C. Liberal Government has done is to artificially record current debt at B.C. Hydro in future years on the books, meaning rate hike are inevitable.”
It is ironic that the B.C. Liberal government is calling for a municipal auditor general when its own Auditor General believes the Government must re-think how it manages its books. With accounting practices like these we are not truly facing the financial challenges of today; we are simply pushing them into the future. British Columbians should be able to trust the numbers given by the government. Using these sorts of tricks erodes faith in our government, and will leave future generations of British Columbians stuck with the bill.
Government gets failing grade on Women's equality
The B.C. Liberal government is not doing enough to support women’s equality. West
Coast Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund recently released their annual CEDAW Report card and B.C. did not fare well. This report evaluates how well B.C. is
complying with the UN’s Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women, and overall B.C. got a C-.
The current government is showing reluctance when it comes to taking action on serious issues of women’s inequality. The report shows several areas where B.C. is performing poorly, but most appalling is the F that we received when it comes to women and accessing justice. Women are disproportionately affected by inadequate legal aid in family law. Nothing has been done to fix the devastation caused by a decade of B.C. Liberal government cuts. This lack of access results in women staying in unhealthy and sometimes dangerous situations.
The report also condemned the government’s response to the hundreds of cases involving missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls, giving B.C. a C- primarily due to the refusal of the B.C. Liberal government to fund groups that had been granted standing to participate in the Missing Women’s Inquiry. Our Critic for women’s issues, Kathy Corrigan, has raised the issue in the legislature and asked the government to fund the aboriginal, community and women’s groups that have effectively been shut out of the process.
We need to do more for vulnerable women in this province, and make sure that more lives are not damaged due to this government’s neglect. My colleagues and I will continue to fight for women in this province and work hard to reduce these harmful inequalities.
Purple Letters arrive at Ministry
On October 20th hundreds of purple letters were delivered to the Minister of Education in support of a sexual orientation and gender identity policy for B.C. schools. This was part of a grassroots movements called The Purple Letter Campaign, started by local Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual and Transgendered (GLBT) youth activists Kaitlin Burnett and Ryan Clayton.
The letters were written by ordinary British Columbians who shared their experience growing up as GLBT youth and the discrimination many of them faced in school. I support this campaign and hope that it will lead to a sexual orientation and gender identity policy for schools in B.C. and increased tolerance across the province. I invite you to read my colleague Spencer Chandra Herbert‘s Purple Letter. Just go to:
http://purplelettercampaign.ca/2011/10/18/my-story-spencer-chandra-herbe....
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