Yesterday Stephanie Smith – BCGEU President, Doug Kinna – Vice President for Social Information and Health, and Mike Eso – Regional Coordinator – met with Bernard Richard, the newly confirmed Representative for Children and Youth (RCY). Replacing the long serving Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, Bernard was confirmed by the British Columbia Legislature as the province's second Representative for Children and Youth last week.

The Representative is a non-partisan, independent officer of the Legislature, reporting directly to the Legislative Assembly and not a government ministry. Since 2007, British Columbia’s RCY has assisted young people and their families in dealing with the provincial child and youth welfare system. The RCY also provides oversight and makes recommendations for improvements to the system.

The BCGEU has worked cooperatively with the RCY's office since 2007 and yesterday’s meeting was very positive. Mr. Richard's knowledge and commitment to the issues facing our child welfare system, including those faced by the staff in both the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD), as well as contracted and Aboriginal agencies who work in the sector, was impressive.

Particular topics of discussion included: issues of staffing and workload, recruitment and retention challenges, and the issues faced by Delegated Aboriginal Agencies. The BCGEU is pleased by Mr. Richard's willingness to a continuing working relationship on these vital issues and we look forward to working with him.