British Columbia

159.

Details on the British Columbia Treaty Commission can be found in Canada's Fifth Report on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

160.

As of July 12, 2005, there were 55 First Nations participating in treaty negotiations: six were at stage 2 of negotiations, three at stage 3, 41 at stage 4 and five at the final stage.

161.

Since September 2002, the process for negotiating agreements in British Columbia for management of resources has resulted in signed agreements with 83 First Nations, providing a total of $77.8 million and 12.8 million cubic metres of timber over the term of the agreements, in exchange for provisions that promote a stable operating environment.

162.

In February 2002, an independent task force on pay equity created a report entitled Working Through the Wage Gap. The task force reviewed models of pay equity legislation and accepted submissions from individuals, employers and trade unions. It found that both complaints-based and pro-active approaches can be administratively difficult and cumbersome for both complainants and employers — most specifically for small employers. The report was tabled in the legislature on March 7, 2002. While the report recommended that the right to equal pay for work of equal value be moved to the Employment Standards Act, the Government's preference is to maintain the current protection in human rights legislation, which provides protection for equal pay for similar or substantially similar work.

163.

In 2004, the Ministry of Human Resources (MHR) contributed $3.25 million to the "Vancouver Agreement demonstration project," which offers employment services for residents facing multiple barriers to employment. The three-year project will assist up to 700 long-term unemployed individuals move toward sustainable employment, using innovative approaches, such as integrated case co-ordination services.

164.

Since its inception in 2002-2003, the Aboriginal Employment Partnership Initiative established seven job-training agreements between government, employers and Aboriginal organizations to ensure better access to jobs for Aboriginal persons and improved cultural awareness in private sector companies.

165.

The First Citizen's Fund provided business expansion or start-up loans to Aboriginal businesses resulting in 330 new or sustained jobs.

166.

MHR increased the earnings exemptions for Persons with Disabilities to $400 per month and Persons with Persistent Multiple Barriers to Employment to $300 per month. As a result, the percentage of persons with disabilities with employment income increased from 11 percent in 2002-2003 to 12.1 percent in 2003-2004.

167.

The number of total cases in receipt of social assistance has fallen by 33 percent from 157,845 (with 252,162 recipients) in June 2001 to 105,769 (with 148,638 recipients) in December 2004. Due to strong job growth, this trend continued through 2003 and 2004 with year over year declines of 7.9 percent and 7.0 percent respectively.

168.

In the July 2003 to June 2004 program year, an estimated 200,400 British Columbian families received combined National Child Benefit Supplement (NCBS) and BC Family Bonus (BCFB) payments for the support of an estimated 362,700 children, receiving $495.9 million in benefits. The BCFB expenditure for fiscal year 2003-2004, including the BC Earned Income Benefit, was $132 million.

169.

Reductions in the maximum BCFB rates have allowed estimated total reinvestment expenditures for provincial child services (NCB initiatives) in 2003-2004 to increase to $303 million. This includes expenditure on the BC Earned Income Benefit, child care, children's dental and optical benefits (Healthy Kids), social housing and early childhood and children at risk services. From January 2001 to December 2004, British Columbia experienced a 53 percent reduction in the number of children in social assistance families.

170.

Within total social assistance cases, the number of persons receiving disability assistance has increased by 26.7 percent over the period from June 2001 to December 2004, from 42,899 to 54,347 cases.

171.

MHR introduced new legislation in September 2002, which changed the definition of persons with disabilities to focus on functional limitations consistent with human rights case law and to include mental disorders.

172.

In 2002, a new client category was introduced for persons with disabilities who are considered to have multiple barriers. These individuals are exempt from the requirement to find work, exempt from time limits and receive higher levels of assistance.

173.

Child, Family and Community Service Act amendments were passed in 2002-2003, to allow a social worker to apply for a court order to transfer custody of a child in continuing care to a person other than the child's parent (family or others significant to the child) when the plan is in the child's best interests, and adoption is not desirable. Also in 2002, agreements were brought into force, as an alternative to bringing a child into care, that allow a parent to enter into a written agreement with a person chosen by a child's parent to care for the child when the parent is unable to do so. A government social worker continues to work with the family and child so the child can return home as soon as possible.

174.

The Community Services Interim Authorities Act, passed in 2002-2003, provides for interim authorities to assist in planning for the establishment of permanent authorities to be responsible for community service delivery for adults with developmental disabilities, and child and family development. The province is moving to a community-based model enabling a sustainable, more integrated system to best meet the needs of vulnerable people.

175.

The Youth Justice Act (British Columbia) was passed in 2003 and came into force in 2004. It consolidated provisions of the Young Offenders (British Columbia) Act and youth provisions of the Correction Act into a comprehensive provincial statute writtenspecifically for youth. It is consistent with the federal Youth Criminal Justice Act and is up-to-date with current practice.

176.

As a result of the Child Care Operating Funding Program, introduced in April 2003, the number of child care spaces eligible for government funding increased from 45,000 to 77,000. To support the creation of child care spaces in rural areas of the province, the required financial contribution for project costs was decreased in April 2003. British Columbia continues to invest federal Early Learning and Child Care funding in existing child care programs and services to increase quality, affordability, sustainability and accessibility of child care across the province.

177.

From 2002 to 2003, the Ministry of Children and Family Development enhanced the types of supports available to provide families with the skills and assistance they need to help them care safely for their children, including the use of family group conferences to draw on the full resources of a family and to help them become healthier.

178.

In 2003-2004, Aboriginal organizations and agencies were increasingly involved in responding to child welfare concerns within their own communities. This included transferring 217 children from the care of the Ministry of Children and Family Development to the care of an Aboriginal agency with authority for child welfare services, planning for at-risk Aboriginal children, and developing and providing services for Aboriginal children and families having difficulties.

179.

In 2003-2004, the number of Aboriginal communities with Early Childhood Development programs increased to 37, compared to 25 in 2001-2002. Initiatives focussed on areas such as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder prevention; community capacity building; parenting and family support; healthy pregnancy, birth and infancy; and early childhood development for Aboriginal children under six and their families.

180.

"Success By 6" early childhood coalitions provide support for parents and improve early learning for young children. This partnership initiative between the non-profit sector, the corporate sector, and the government, influences strategic investment and involvement through community-driven projects across British Columbia to enhance outcomes for children under age six.

181.

The most recent progress report on the Government of British Columbia's Early Childhood Development activities highlights the progress made and activities undertaken in four priority action areas: healthy pregnancy, birth and infancy; early childhood development, learning and care; parenting and family supports; and community supports. The report is available online at www.mcf.gov.bc.ca/early_childhood/annual_reports.htm. See the Introduction to the present report for additional information on the Early Childhood Development Agreement.

182.

In 2004, a three-year violence prevention strategy was introduced, which includes a significant public education and awareness campaign, as well as a specific focus on Aboriginal women, immigrant and visible minority women, and women with disabilities.

183.

In 2002-2003, the Government began funding the "Violence is Preventable" project, which links elementary and high school students with Children Who Witness Abuse counsellors and programs to ensure young people affected by domestic violence receive the support services they require.

184.

The "Healthy and Respectful Relationships" project trains high school students to become peer facilitators to assist other students learn skills to prevent violence.

185.

The Mobile Access Project is a three-year pilot project that began in March 2004 and provides mobile overnight services for women who work in the street-level sex trade in the Downtown Eastside area of Vancouver. The project aims to reduce violence against women sex trade workers, and improve their access to basic and preventive health services. As part of a job training/employment development approach, the service is staffed, in part, by women who are current and/or former sex trade workers.

186.

In 2000, the province issued "Local Responses to Homelessness, a Planning Guide for BC Communities", to assist municipalities to address the problem of homelessness.

187.

Through the Emergency Shelter Program, homeless persons receive shelter, food and other services to meet basic needs. As part of a new provincial government initiative (Premier's Task Force on Homelessness, Mental Heath and Addictions), funding was increased in 2004 by 40 percent.

188.

The Premier's Task Force on Homelessness, Mental Illness and Addictions was announced by the Premier at the 2004 Union of BC Municipalities Convention. The Task Force, composed of seven mayors and three Cabinet ministers, is chaired by the Premier. Since December 2004, the Province has approved a total of 533 new transitional housing units and shelter beds and appropriate support services to help people break the cycle of homelessness and become self-reliant and independent. The capital funding for the new projects is from the second phase of the Canada-British Columbia Affordable Housing Agreement.

189.

Throughout 2003-2004, the Ministry of Children and Family Development provided a variety of services to assist high-risk youth wanting to exit homelessness and/or the street. In addition to traditional in-care options, dedicated youth support services including street outreach, safe housing and Youth Agreements were provided throughout the province. Youth Agreements provide comprehensive supports to high-risk youth aged 16-18 and are designed to assist youth in addressing their risk factors and to help them transition to independence, return to school, and/or gain work experience and life skills. In 2003-2004, the Ministry increased its overall use of such agreements to well over 300 new Youth Agreements. Overall, services dedicated to targeting high-risk youth in 2003-2004 were in excess of $21 million.

190.

"Justice for Girls" is a three-year project, which began in November 2004, aimed at developing creative housing options for street-involved young women who live with poverty, instability and violence.

191.

The British Columbia HealthGuide Program began in the spring of 2001 and provides high quality health information and advice to all British Columbians to help people manage their own health care conditions or concerns, any time of the day or night, using a self-care approach. The program has four integrated components:

• BC HealthGuide Handbook (also available in French);
• BC HealthGuide OnLine — a medically approved Web site;
• BC NurseLine — a toll-free nursing call centre operating 24/7, with pharmacists available from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm every day. Deaf/hearing-impaired service is available, as well as simultaneous translation services in over 130 languages, including 17 First Nations languages; and
• BC HealthFiles — a series of over 170 one-page, easy-to-understand fact sheets about a wide range of public and environmental health and safety issues. A number of the BC HealthFiles have been translated into French, Punjabi, Chinese, and Spanish.
  
  

192.

The BC HealthGuide components are accessible to vulnerable groups in British Columbia, including Aboriginal, multicultural/linguistic populations, older adults, women and children, and populations with chronic diseases and those requiring palliative care services.

193.

The Community Care and Assisted Living Act, proclaimed in May 2004, replaced the Community Care Facility Act, to streamline, update and modernize the regulation of residential community care and child day care facilities, emphasizing local decision making in recognition of the province's regional health care system.

194.

British Columbia has introduced a policy framework to guide the prevention, care and treatment of HIV infection entitled: "Priorities for Action in Managing the Epidemics: HIV/AIDS in BC (2003-2007)."

195.

British Columbia's Tobacco Strategy integrates legislation, legal action, public education, and a range of cessation and prevention programs to reduce tobacco use in the province. This strategy has contributed to British Columbia having the second lowest smoking rate in North America. The annual "Honour Your Health Challenge" brings together Aboriginal service providers from around British Columbia for training in community-based tobacco control programs.

196.

In June 2004, British Columbia introduced "Every Door Is The Right Door: A British Columbia Planning Framework to Address Problematic Substance Use and Addictions," to assist health authorities, partner ministries, and key community groups in strengthening their coordinated responses to problematic substance use.

197.

In August 2004, British Columbia released Crystal Meth and Other Amphetamines — An Integrated BC Strategy, outlining priority actions to address issues of methamphetamine use and production, through integrated and coordinated responses from all sectors.

198.

To support the implementation of the Mental Health and Addictions Information Plan for Mental Health Literacy, introduced in 2003, British Columbia developed a partnership with seven provincial mental health and addictions agencies (BC Partners for Mental Health and Addictions Information) to provide evidenced-based information on mental health and addiction issues for people with mental and substance use disorders, and their families, professionals in a variety of service sectors and the general public. This one-stop communication infrastructure provides a 24-hour Mental Health and Addictions Information Line, a Web site (www.heretohelp.bc.ca) and a series of information sheets and practical toolkits to help individuals living with or at risk for mental disorders or substance use disorders and their families to manage their health.

199.

New tertiary mental health facilities have been developed to replace outdated, institutional facilities with modern, home-like facilities throughout the province. These facilities are based on a new model of care and provide smaller, more home-like settings, closer to clients' home communities.

200.

Approved in February 2003, the five-year Child and Youth Mental Health Plan is enabling significant enhancements to services for children and youth with mental disorders and their families. Epidemiological research indicates 140,000 children and youth have diagnosable mental disorders in British Columbia.

201.

British Columbia provides services to approximately 3,000 children and youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and their families. British Columbia has significantly increased funding in this area. The budget for treatment and intervention for ASD in 2005-2006 is over $32 million (from $3.4 million in 1999-2000). Since 2002, British Columbia has provided special funding to families of children diagnosed with ASD. Families of children under age six are eligible to receive up to $20,000 annually to purchase autism intervention. Families of children and youth ages six to 18 are eligible to receive up to $6,000 annually to purchase out-of-school autism intervention. (Educational programs and special education services are also provided through schools.) In addition, the government provides other support services to children with ASD and their families, including respite care, various therapies, family support and child care workers.

202.

See Canada's Fifth Report on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights for information on initiatives related to Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and suicide prevention.

203.

In 2002-2003, regional health authorities developed and implemented regional Aboriginal Health Plans to ensure coordination and integration of Aboriginal health services into the overall planning and delivery of health programs within the province.

204.

The Provincial Women's Health Strategy, released in October 2004, focuses on priority areas for advancing the health of girls and women.