Prince George, B.C.- Council for the City of Prince George has given full  support to a resolution calling for the development of a social policy framework in B.C.

“Social policy affects all of us in different ways” says Dawn Hemmingway.  She, and Kerry Pateman belong to Board Voice, which brings together Boards of Social Agencies  in B.C.

In a presentation to Prince George City Council, Hemmingway says there is a need to connect, in order to determine if there is duplication of services, and that too often social agencies are in silos.

She says a social service policy would identify the kinds of things that are important and align services to provide services that meet people’s needs.

She says while economic plans are considered important to guide economic development, there is no social policy that would help guide that kind of work.

Kerry Pateman says the call is for a province wide discussion that would develop a “vision for  a better life for our children and ourselves.”  Alberta  has such a framework says Pateman “It provides an example we could use in B.C.”  She says the Alberta framework was developed following province wide consultation with Albertans.

A resolution,  calling  for such a framework to be developed, will be put before the  Union of BC Municipalities at the UBCM’s conference next month.