The crisis in community living and the acute shortage of staff in the provincial court system were the two public policy issues that dominated question period in the BC legislature today. Both involve BCGEU members and their work.
 
NDP Official Opposition leader Adrian Dix opened question period by asking the Premier what she plans to do to address the crisis faced by adults with developmental disabilities and their families. Getting an unsatisfactory answer, he repeated the question two more times.
 
The government is also flip-flopping on releasing the statistics showing how many people with developmental disabilities are waiting for services across B.C. The numbers must be released shortly because the government must comply with a freedom of information request filed by the union.
 
The union is an active partner in the BC-Community Living Action Group, a network of self-advocates, families, support staff and agencies that support adults with disabilities.
 
You can view question period here. Written transcripts are here - starting at 1350.
 
Next, the NDP official Opposition raised as series of questions about the crisis facing our court system because of delays related to severe staff shortages of Deputy Sheriffs and Court Clerks.
 
The BCGEU has been raising concerns about these backlogs in the Courts for months. Government information released to the media indicates that 73 trials have been delayed so far this year because of staff shortages and related problems.
 
These questions also can be found here -  scroll down to 1410.