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.
 

The B.C. Government’s agenda for the upcoming legislative session, as outlined in today’s speech from the throne, was short on details, said Darryl Walker, president of the BCGEU.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011
 \*6:00 pm\* (please note revised time)
 BCGEU Fraser Valley office
  8555-198A Street, Langley BC  V2Y 0A9

The Correction and Sheriff Services Component (C.S.S.C) has been advised that the Adult Custody Division is again seeking expressions of interest from Correction Staff who are interested in temporarily being appointed as a Deputy Sheriff for the Fall of 2011.  Both Component Chairperson Dean Purdy and President Darryl Walker have recently commented, in the media, on the shortage of Deputy Sheriffs and the negative impact on our justice system (see August 19, 2011 release on the BCGEU website).

The B.C. government announced that they are hiring 36 new auxiliary sheriffs positions, according to the B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union (BCGEU), which was notified of the additional spaces this week.

August 18, 2011
BCGEU Lower Mainland Area Office
4925 Canada Way, Burnaby – Boardroom

On Wednesday, June 29 BCGEU representatives met with senior Workers' Compensation Board (WCB) representatives as a follow-up to a meeting held in February to discuss ongoing violence against correctional officers in the province's jails.

Funding problems in B.C. courts are outlined in a May 31 letter sent to the chief judges of the three different courts in the province by the Assistant Deputy Minister of Court Services. The letter was obtained and made public by the BCGEU.

BCGEU representatives met June 28 with Attorney General Barry Penner to discuss issues related to the shortage of sheriffs and how they impact court safety.