
B.C. launches review of home-sharing program after inquest into woman's starvation death
A statement from the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction says the review will assess safety in home-sharing arrangements, standards that promote quality of life, as well as accountability and oversight measures.
1:55
CLBC caregiver not being paid
The government says it will convene an advisory body made up of individuals, families and service providers to give input for developing recommendations.
Story continues below advertisement
Florence Girard was 54 years old when she died in 2018, weighing only about 50 pounds in the home where she lived as part of the home-share program for people with developmental disabilities, managed by the Crown corporation Community Living BC.
Get weekly health news
Receive the latest medical news and health information delivered to you every Sunday. Sign up for weekly health newsletter Sign Up
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy
A coroners inquest jury in January made 13 recommendations including calling for better training and pay for people who share their homes and an improved system to co-ordinate residents' needs.
2:59
Community Living BC CEO responds to criticism in wake of client's death
Shane Simpson, chair of Community Living BC's board, says in the statement that the Crown corporation welcomes the review and that the organization has made a number of changes to its processes and oversight since Girard's death.
The government says the review is expected to be finished in the fall.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Edmonton Journal
02-08-2025
- Edmonton Journal
Saturday's letters: Is UCP against Albertans with disabilities?
Article content As a parent of an adult with Down syndrome, we are very familiar with AISH. My daughter works part-time, volunteers and participates actively in art and sports programs. She is also an AISH recipient. AISH is essential for her financial needs, dental needs and diabetic needs. What AISH doesn't cover, family does. Article content The $200 Canada Disability Benefit is a very nice supplement to the existing AISH income. It will help with expenses which AISH doesn't cover. This federal government gesture is meant to supplement, not take away from any existing provincial programs for persons with disabilities. Article content Article content Article content Article content Kudos to Keith Gerein and his description of crowdfunding, especially his note '… it's nice to see an innovative attempt to have the public directly contribute to the revitalization without relying on corporate or government millions. And if it works, perhaps that can be a model to re-energize other meaningful properties in the city.' Article content Article content I heartily agree, especially now that the province has reopened the possibility of salvaging the old provincial museum and is accepting proposals into September. If a crowdfunding opportunity arose to help save the old RAM, I, for one, would gladly contribute. I am sure many others would too. Perhaps it's not too late to save that beautiful, old building. Article content Pat Holt, Edmonton Article content Our previous premier, Jason Kenney, valued Albertans' health and lives sufficiently that, in the fall of 2021, his UCP government actually provided vaccine-hesitant Albertans with a $100 debit card to undertake one or even two COVID-19 vaccinations, typically (and conveniently) at their neighborhood pharmacy. Article content In striking contrast and just four years later, it appears that our current premier, Danielle Smith, places much less value on Albertans' health and lives. Her UCP government plans, in the fall of 2025, both to charge us a significant price (likely more than $100 each) for our COVID-19 vaccinations and to require that those of us who find this affordable to book our COVID-19 vaccination appointments, in advance, at a small number of often-inconveniently-located public health clinics.


Vancouver Sun
25-07-2025
- Vancouver Sun
Letters to The Sun: ICBC leaves accident victims high and dry
Re: Despite lifelong eye injury from crash, ICBC's no-fault rules means man gets $0 Re: Why accident victims face an uphill battle challenging ICBC decisions under no-fault insurance system The experiences of Richard Broad and Reagan Kucher-Lang (and many others) illustrate how ICBC's no-fault insurance is grossly inadequate in protecting the interest of its customers. The public is totally at the mercy of a Crown corporation that is bent on protecting its own interest instead of its clients'. Victims of car accidents like Mr. Broad and Mr. Kucher-Lang are left high and dry at the time when they most need support. As I have opined before, ICBC is a blatant conflict of interest and its insurance is not worth the paper it's written on. A daily roundup of Opinion pieces from the Sun and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Informed Opinion will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Dr. Frederick Kwong, Vancouver Re: How videos are helping dementia patients at Metro Vancouver care homes remember daily routines I had to shake my head as I have a sister in long-term care. I'm a regular visitor three to four times weekly. I see patients regularly sitting in front of their meals — with dementia, patients lack initiative, and unless a real person is there to prompt them, not a video, the food and fluids are very often left. I see families come by and think this is an isolated incident, but it tells me they know little about dementia. There is nothing that can replace a care aide actively involved to coax our loved ones at the meal time. Instead of videos, why aren't we baby boomers — who have always had high expectations — fighting for more staff in care facilities? Visit more often to see that your loved one is emotionally supported — only family can do this as staff are too busy doing basic physical care. I appreciate all the care aides out there, and other allied staff, but the system falls short. Let's all be part of the solution. Maureen Roper, North Vancouver Re: Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim wants review of industrial lands designation of five major areas Where do urban mayors such as Ken Sim think the industrial and light industrial land uses will relocate if they zone them out of their cities to be replaced by residential uses? This results is a domino effect and places pressure on the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) as industrial land users seek to replace this land. The short-sighted nature of these kinds of decisions do not serve the broader community well. Shaundehl Runka, Gibsons Re: Canadians proud to be considered 'nasty' in defending sovereignty, David Eby says I find it precious that U.S. ambassador Pete Hoekstra and his masters think that Canadians are 'mean and nasty' to deal with. This lame attempt at gaslighting Canadians will not win Hoekstra any leverage. It is perfectly clear to most of us that U.S. President Donald Trump's stated plan is to wage economic warfare on Canada with the goal of weakening our economy and annexing us. America may grow rich from this piracy, for a while, but it will remain morally bankrupt. Glen Taylor, Coquitlam Canada gained worldwide respect due to our soldiers' courage during two world wars, and now Canucks' moxie is being tested as they won't be bullied or belittled. The tariff war seems intent on destroying our economy, while we're being called mean and nasty for boycotting U.S. booze and travel. Are we supposed to roll over and play dead? Canadians recognized for their low-key behaviour can over time become 'nasty' standing up to those who treat them unfairly, eh. Peter Middlemore Sr., Windsor Canada is a country that stands for human rights, yet we are standing by as Gaza starves. A man-made famine, caused by a deliberate aid blockade, has pushed almost all of the population to the brink of death. Our statements of concern are meaningless without action. As Canadians, we must demand more — immediate food airdrops, UN-protected aid corridors, and sanctions on those responsible. This is a test of our nation's character. We must not fail it. Laith Sarhan, Vancouver Letters to the editor should be sent to sunletters@


Canada News.Net
22-07-2025
- Canada News.Net
Yellowknife's Giant Mine: Canada downplayed arsenic exposure as an Indigenous community was poisoned
Share article Print article Decades of gold mining at Giant Mine in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, has left a toxic legacy: 237,000 tonnes of arsenic trioxide dust stored in underground chambers. As a multi-billion government remediation effort to clean up the mine site and secure the underground arsenic ramps up, the Canadian government is promising to deal with the mine's disastrous consequences for local Indigenous communities. In March, the minister for Crown-Indigenous relations appointed a ministerial special representative, Murray Rankin, to investigate how historic mining affected the treaty rights of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation. We document this history in our forthcoming book, The Price of Gold: Mining, Pollution, and Resistance in Yellowknife, exposing how colonialism, corporate greed and lax regulation led to widespread air and water pollution, particularly affecting Tatst'ne (Yellowknives Dene) communities. We also highlight the struggle for pollution controls and public health led by Tatst'ne and their allies, including mine workers. The story begins when prospectors discovered a rich gold ore body at Giant Mine in the 1930s. While mining started at the nearby Con Mine in the late 1930s, Giant's development was interrupted by the Second World War. Only with new investment and the lifting of wartime labour restrictions in 1948 did Giant Mine start production. Mining at Giant was a challenge. Much of the gold was locked within arsenopyrite formations, and to get at it, workers needed to crush, then roast the gold ore at very high temperatures. This burned off the arsenic in the ore before using cyanide treatment to extract gold. One byproduct of this process was thousands of tonnes per day of arsenic trioxide, sent up a smokestack into the local environment. In addition to being acutely toxic, arsenic trioxide is also linked to lung and skin cancers, though scientific understanding of environmental exposures was inconclusive at the time. Archival records show that federal public health officials recommended the roaster be shut down until arsenic emissions could be controlled. But the company and federal mining regulators dragged their feet, fearing the economic impact. The result, in 1951, was the poisoning death of at least one Dene child on Latham Island (now Ndil), near the mine; his family was compensated a paltry $750. Many Dene in Ndil relied on snow melt for drinking water, and there were reports of widespread sickness in the community. Local animals, including dairy cattle and sled dogs, also became sick and died. Only after this tragedy did the federal government force the company to implement pollution controls. The control system was not terribly effective at first, though as it improved, arsenic emissions dropped dramatically from nearly 12,000 pounds per day to around 115 pounds per day in 1959. Thousands of tonnes of arsenic captured through this process was collected and stored in mined-out chambers underground. Throughout the 1960s, public health officials continually downplayed concerns about arsenic exposure in Yellowknife, whether via drinking water or on local vegetables. By the 1970s, however, latent public health concerns over arsenic exposure in Yellowknife became a major national media story. It began with a CBC Radio As it Happens episode in 1975 that unearthed an unreleased government report documenting widespread, chronic arsenic exposure in the city. Facing accusations of a cover-up, the federal government dismissed health concerns even as it set up a local study group to investigate them. Suspicious of government studies and disregard for local health risks, Indigenous communities and workers took matters into their own hands. A remarkable alliance emerged between the Indian Brotherhood of the Northwest Territories and the United Steelworkers of America (the union representing Giant Mine workers) to undertake their own investigations. They conducted hair samplings of Dene children and mine workers - the population most exposed to arsenic in the community - and submitted them for laboratory analysis. The resulting report accused the federal government of suppressing health information and suggested children and workers were being poisoned. The controversy made national headlines yet again, prompting an independent inquiry by the Canadian Public Health Association. The association's 1978 report somewhat quelled public concern. But environmental and public health advocates in Yellowknife continued their fight for pollution reduction through the 1980s. As Giant Mine entered the turbulent final decade of its life, including a violent lockout in 1992, public concern mounted over the growing environmental liabilities. Most urgently, people living in and near Yellowknife began to realize that enough arsenic trioxide had been stored underground over the years to poison every human on the planet four times over. Without constant pumping of groundwater out of the mine, the highly soluble arsenic could seep into local waterways, including Yellowknife Bay. When the company that owned the mine, Royal Oak Mines, went bankrupt in 1999, it left no clear plan for the remediation of this toxic material, and very little money to deal with it. The federal government assumed primary responsibility for the abandoned mine and, in the quarter century since, developed plans to clean up the site and stabilize the arsenic underground by freezing it - an approach that will cost more than $4 billion. Public concern and activism by Yellowknives Dene First Nation and other Yellowknifers prompted a highly contested environmental assessment and the creation of an independent oversight body, the Giant Mine Oversight Board in 2015. Under the current remediation strategy, the toxic waste at Giant Mine will require perpetual care, imposing a financial and environmental burden on future generations. The long history of historical injustice resulting from mineral development and pollution around Yellowknife remains unaddressed. In support of calls for an apology and compensation, the Yellowknives Dene First Nation recently published reports that include oral testimony and other evidence of impacts on their health and land in their traditional territory. Hopefully, the Canadian government's appointment of the special representative means the colonial legacy of the mine will finally be addressed. Giant Mine serves as a warning about the current push from governments and industry to ram through development projects without environmental assessments or Indigenous consultations.