Does Christy Clark have the backbone to fight for new resources for children in need?
That’s the question facing the new minister of Children and Families as she takes on a ministry consumed by scandal and rocked by budget cuts, NDP Opposition MLA Jenny Kwan said today. Kwan reminded Minister Clark that when in Opposition she told the House the following: “It [the ministry of Children and Families] is a ministry doesn’t have the resources to do its job, and we have seen successive ministers who don’t have the clout or the guts or the backbone to go to cabinet and get the resources” At the time the 1998 budget for the Ministry of Children and families was $1.427 billion. Under the Liberals, the ministry budget, currently at $1.451 billion, is scheduled to be cut to $1.386 billion in the coming year. “Now that Ms Clark has been given the job to protect kids, we can put those words to the test,” said Kwan. “Either she’s going to have the guts to stand up and fight for more resources, or she is going to cave to the Premier’s agenda of cuts to children in need.” Kwan said th
