BC to Get Tough On Crime ?

By 250 News

Victoria -    Is the Province Adopting a get tough attitude on Crime. 

 In the speech from the throne Government announced:

* A comprehensive review of sentencing practices will address why

Sentences in B.C. tend to be shorter than in other provinces for crimes

such as theft, homicide, property crimes, fraud, impaired driving and

drug possession. It will also assess how the federal government’s

anti-crime measures might affect demands on our police, Crown

prosecutors, courts and correctional system.

* That information will contribute to a Community Safety Strategy that

will be released this fall. That strategy will include enhanced

policing, new community courts and expanded correctional capacity.

* Amendments to the Police Act will aim to implement Josiah Wood’s

recommendations to improve transparency, accountability and public

confidence in the police complaints process.

* An updated 10-year mental health plan will be completed.

* Patients with severe mental illnesses who require intensive, sustained

and complex medical treatment will be provided care in new and existing

facilities at Willingdon in Burnaby, which will be retrofitted and

opened this year, and at Riverview in Coquitlam. 

* A new multi-year investment will be made to revitalize Vancouver’s

Downtown Eastside. Anchored by the new Woodward’s project, new public

initiatives will be undertaken in partnership with the city and the

neighbourhoods to enhance the 40-block area that includes Gastown,

Chinatown, Strathcona and Japantown. 

* Communities will be required to include provision for mental health

and addiction service facilities in their community plans.

* Expanded outreach programs will help lift people out of the street and

offer them personalized support.

* A "211" service, in partnership with the United Way, will be launched

to give citizens new telephone access to information about the full

range of social services offered in their communities.

* The Province will work with local governments to explore the potential

to further integrate policing and to examine the possibilities for

amalgamating police forces. 

* More will also be done, as government implements the Hughes

recommendations on child protection, improves programs to prevent

violence against women, and increases support to people with

developmental disabilities, children with special needs and their

families.

New initiatives to strengthen the New Relationship with B.C.’s First

Nations include:

* Support for fast-tracked treaty negotiations at common tables, as

suggested by the BC Treaty Commission and First Nations. 

* Pursuing "incremental treaty agreements" to help First Nations benefit

earlier in the treaty-making process.

* Aboriginal rights to harvest wood for domestic purposes on Crown land

will be given new statutory recognition. 

* New investments in carbon offset projects that benefit First Nations

will be an integral part of government’s climate action plan.  

* The Province will work with First Nations and the federal government

to put Jordan’s Principle into action, and to strengthen services for

Aboriginal children and families. That principle says the interests of

Aboriginal children must always be paramount, and that no child, on- or

off-reserve, should be put at risk due to jurisdictional disputes.  

* New legislation will enable Aboriginal authorities to assume legal

responsibility for the delivery of most child and family services in

their communities.  

* The Province will contribute to the establishment of the Stehiyaq

Healing and Wellness Village in the Fraser Valley. 

* New mechanisms will facilitate effective engagement of all parties in

meaningful consultation and help First Nations participate as equity

partners in major economic development projects.

New initiatives to build educational excellence include:

* A new program leading to a certificate in leadership will be

introduced for teachers. 

* New powers will be given to the College of Teachers to remove the

teaching certificate of any member who is found to be incompetent.

* New steps will be taken to expand B.C.’s public university system,

provide new clarity of purpose in our post-secondary institutions and

create new opportunities for higher learning. Funding will be targeted

where it is needed most, to meet skills demands with added training

capacity for skilled workers.

* The Provincial Nominee Program and the successful Skills Connect for

Immigrants program will be expanded to help meet the demand for skilled

workers.

* Post-secondary students will be given new consumer protection as

institutional accountability is strengthened under the new Education

Quality Assurance program.

* A major new arts endowment will provide lasting benefits to all

British Columbians.

* Steps will be taken to enhance the Vancouver Art Gallery’s

international reputation as a showcase of B.C. art of all genres,

cultures and regions.

* The Province will support the establishment of a National Maritime

Centre for the Pacific and the Arctic in North Vancouver. 

New initiatives for B.C. children include:

* Another 316 StrongStart BC centres will be added in the next two

years, for a total of 400 in B.C. by 2010. StrongStart BC is a free,

drop-in early learning program for preschool-aged children accompanied

by a parent or caregiver.

* A new Early Childhood Learning Agency will be established. It will

assess the feasibility and costs of full school day kindergarten for

five-year-olds.  It will also undertake a feasibility study of providing

parents with the choice of day-long kindergarten for four-year-olds by

2010, and for three-year-olds by 2012. That report will be completed and

released within the year.  

* A new Centre for Autism Education and Research will be developed that

will provide a residential environment for children with autism and

create a national hub for research and a centre for parental supports.

* Creating new "Walking School Bus" and "Bicycle Train" programs to

encourage children to walk or bicycle to school with adult supervision.

* Enacting new legislation to ban smoking in vehicles when children are

present.

* Expanded pediatric oncology research will offer new hope for cancer

prevention and treatment specifically focused on children.

* Committing to the upgrading and expansion of BC Children’s Hospital.

Next week’s budget will build on other initiatives to support B.C.’s

continued economic prosperity that include:

* Pursuing creation of a new northern energy corridor from Prince Rupert

to Prince George.

* Pursue the next phase of the Port of Prince Rupert development, in

co-operation with First Nations and the federal government. 

* Working with the federal government, a new integrated Pacific Ports

Strategy will also be developed to make the most of Canada’s Pacific

Gateway.

* Amendments to the Employment Standards Act will improve protection for

farm workers and prohibit agricultural producers from using unlicensed

farm labour contractors.

* The new Working Roundtable on Forestry will recommend new

possibilities for forestry, including new tenures; and a 90-day

regulatory and process review will cut unnecessary administrative and

process costs.

* New pension bridging opportunities will be developed for older workers

nearing retirement. New training opportunities will also be offered to

help forest workers who have been temporarily laid off to upgrade skills

and earning potential.

* The new BC Bioenergy Strategy will create new opportunities in

cellulosic ethanol, biodiesel and other clean, renewable fuels.

* The consultation now underway will continue to advance the potential

for Site C, which could be a major economic catalyst for rural British

Columbia in years to come.

* A new British Columbia Agriculture Plan will ensure farming continues

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