B.C.'s legal aid system faces drastic cuts at the end of March.

Like many of you, I was shocked by the television images of devastation and grief that followed the earthquake in Haiti - levelling many towns and cities and claiming hundreds of thousands of lives.

This week, the BC Nurses Union announced it is withdrawing its raid applications at the Labour Relations Board to represent all Licensed Practical Nurses in B.C., because they don't have enough signed cards to trigger a certification vote.

As we finish our first two days of public service bargaining, it is clear that we face a challenging round of negotiations.

I continue to be amazed by our members and how dedicated they are to the services they provide, in the face of real challenges.

The Northern Health Authority (NHA) announced it would be closing two important services for some of the most vulnerable people in our province: Step Up House, a mental health group home in Quesnel and ATLAS Youth Drug and Alcohol Treatment centre in Terrace.

Yesterday I went to Waddell's Haven Guest Home, a mental health and addictions facility in Mission.

I was there to talk to workers, residents and their families about Fraser Health Authority's recent announcement of the facility's closure. They were in shock after hearing the news last week.

The raid application the BCNU filed at the Labour Relations Board on Monday is certainly confusing. And to my way of thinking, it contradicts everything the nurses' union has been saying in the past few weeks about wanting to unify nurses.

I recently stood before the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services and asked the BC government to make investing in public services its top budget priority for 2010.

It's National Medicare Week and what do we have show for it in British Columbia?

The BC government seems to think a one-size-fits-all approach to helping people in crisis is the way to go. But saving lives is not just a dollars-and-cents business.