Single women and women with children who were at risk of homelessness now have a new place to call home at Christine Lamb Residence, a new 41-unit supportive housing development in Abbotsford. Our government provided approximately $8.9 million, and the City of Abbotsford provided the land, and waived development cost charges and property taxes.
Single mothers and their children who were at risk of homelessness have moved into their new home at YWCA Alder Gardens, a new 36-unit supportive housing development in Surrey. Our government provided a grant of almost $9 million, and will provide annual operational funding of $212,311.
The Ministry of Children and Family Development and Tillicum Lelum Aboriginal Friendship Society celebrated the grand opening of a new safe house for vulnerable teens in Nanaimo, which doubles the capacity of the former youth safe house. Our government invested $375,000 in capital funding for the $750,000 project, and also provides $325,000 in annual operational funding.
A new investment of $878,000 for the Provincial Office of Domestic Violence will support the important work of ensuring co-ordination and collaboration of domestic violence programs and services throughout government.
Our Government introduced changes to the review process for immediate roadside prohibitions (IRPs), to safeguard the life-saving benefits of its impaired driving law while addressing a recent court ruling. The Motor Vehicle Act amendments enhances fairness and strengthens public confidence in the process for drivers whose roadside breath samples yield either "warn" or "fail" readings on an approved screening device (ASD).
In conjunction with work being done by WorkSafeBC, our Government pledged to prevent workplace bullying and harassment with the amendments to Bill 14, which added specific references to bullying and harassment and provided broader compensation for work-related mental disorders.
Emergency workers will now be able to access information about potential disease exposure. The Emergency Intervention Disclosure Act enables emergency workers and Good Samaritans to get a court order to require individuals to give a bodily fluid sample, if one is not given voluntarily.
The Provincial Government announced new safety regulations aimed that will improve road safety and reduce motorcycle deaths, injuries and crashes. All motorcycle riders and their passengers must now wear helmets that meet safety industry standards.
British Columbia joined the federal government in marking Victims of Crime Awareness Week, April 22-28, by providing over $40 million again this year to support the delivery of critical services to those individuals whose lives have been impacted by crime.
British Columbia's AMBER Alert system received a major boost. A new government-wide initiative will see 30,000 civil servants receive AMBER Alerts on their work computers and mobile devices on a 24-hour basis.
B.C. has proclaimed Prevention of Violence Against Women Week to raise awareness in communities throughout the province and serve as a reminder that help is always available to women who have either experienced violence first-hand, are in a violent relationship or are in a situation where there is a threat of violence.
In April, we announced $225,000 in funding to bring the popular Bear Aware program to more communities in B.C. Bear Aware is an education program focused on reducing human-bear conflict in residential neighbourhoods through education, innovation and co-operation.
British Columbia's justice system was strengthened with the addition of 23 new deputy sheriffs who began working in courtrooms throughout the province. The cost for training each sheriff recruit is approximately $25,000 and is part of the more than $1 billion our government spends annually on B.C.'s public safety and justice system.
A total of 185 community groups, local governments and policing agencies shared $5.5 million to help reduce youth involvement in gangs, prevent violence against women and children, and further crime prevention, thanks to a record year of civil forfeiture proceeds.
New changes implemented in March will centralize custody services for female youth in Burnaby. These changes will enable improvements to youth justice services, including enhanced rehabilitative programs and support for family visiting.
Construction of the new 216-cell expansion to the Surrey Pretrial Centre began this March. The $90-million project, which will double the centre's capacity, is the centrepiece of the first phase to expand correctional facilities and address capacity issues in B.C.
New legislation strengthened the effectiveness of criminal forfeiture, giving B.C. another tool to remove financial incentives to criminal activity. The proceeds will compensate victims of crime and fund crime prevention programs in B.C.
First of its kind in Canada, the Fugitive Return Program is a province-wide initiative designed to nab individuals with out-of-province arrest warrants. Building off the success of the Con Air Program, this program will make finding prolific offenders and high-risk persons wanted for serious offences the program's top priority. The initiative is part of the provincial government's commitment to public safety.
Improving Care for B.C. Seniors: An Action Plan outlines strategies to provide seniors with protection from abuse and neglect. Consultations with community members are underway across British Columbia. Protecting vulnerable seniors from all forms of elder abuse is one of our top priorities.
In March, our government reached a final agreement with the federal government for a new RCMP contract. Provincial, federal and municipal governments will now jointly oversee how services are delivered and costs are managed.
A pilot project initially funded by the Ministry of Children and Family Development in 2009 received $80,000. The Communities That Care program (CTC) works with at-risk youth in Williams Lake and Anahim Lake to understand and address issues such as substance abuse, violence and teen pregnancy.
Our government appointed nine new Provincial Court judges in regions around the province to improve access to the justice system and further address caseload pressures on B.C.'s courts.
Our government selected the Osoyoos Indian Band's proposed site, in the Senkulmen Enterprise Park on Highway 97, as the preferred location for a new Okanagan correctional centre. The high-security, state-of-the-art centre with a 360-cell capacity will more than double corrections capacity in B.C.'s Interior.
More than 40 court administration staff and justice officials, including members of the judiciary, were part of the official opening of a new training program at the Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC). Our government committed $240,000 to assist with establishing the centre and curriculum development.
With the launch of an Interior Crisis Line Network, all Interior Health residents now have round-the-clock access to toll-free telephone support when they need assistance in crisis situations.
Seniors and people with disabilities in Parksville now have better access to affordable housing at Hustwick Place, a 33-unit building funded by the governments of Canada and British Columbia along with community partners.
B.C. enhanced services for youth in custody as part of a redesign undertaken to reflect low occupancy rates in the Province's three centres in Burnaby, Victoria and Prince George. B.C. Youth Custody Services can now operate more efficiently by centralizing all girls' services in Burnaby, reducing operating levels in Victoria and Prince George, and redirecting savings to expand rehabilitation services at all three centres.
The B.C. Civil Forfeiture Program provided new funding to reduce youth involvement in gangs, prevent violence against women and children, and support other crime prevention initiatives.
Newcomers in Sooke, Saanich, Langford and Squamish received immigrant settlement services for the first time, thanks $4.4 million in new funding. The additional funding is part of a $20.3 million annual budget for the Settlement and Integration Program under WelcomeBC and will allow the program to be enhanced and expanded.
New provincial policing standards were introduced in B.C. The new standards met all of the Braidwood Commission recommendations for Taser use. They also replaced and updated previous use-of-force and training regulations.
Attorney General Shirley Bond announced a new training program at the Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC) for court administration staff. The program includes a combination of online courses, virtual classroom work and in-person training at JIBC campuses in New Westminster and throughout B.C.
Our government appointed B.C.’s first chief civilian director for independent investigations in order to create more accountability, oversight and transparency of police incidents that result in serious harm or death.
B.C. enhanced services for youth in custody as part of a redesign undertaken to reflect low occupancy rates in the Province's three centres in Burnaby, Victoria and Prince George. B.C. Youth Custody Services can now operate more efficiently by centralizing all girls' services in Burnaby, reducing operating levels in Victoria and Prince George, and redirecting savings to expand rehabilitation services at all three centres.
B.C. enhanced services for youth in custody as part of a redesign undertaken to reflect low occupancy rates in the Province's three centres in Burnaby, Victoria and Prince George. B.C. Youth Custody Services can now operate more efficiently by centralizing all girls' services in Burnaby, reducing operating levels in Victoria and Prince George, and redirecting savings to expand rehabilitation services at all three centres.
B.C. enhanced services for youth in custody as part of a redesign undertaken to reflect low occupancy rates in the Province's three centres in Burnaby, Victoria and Prince George. B.C. Youth Custody Services can now operate more efficiently by centralizing all girls' services in Burnaby, reducing operating levels in Victoria and Prince George, and redirecting savings to expand rehabilitation services at all three centres.
The Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Shirley Bond, launched a smoke-alarm campaign to ensure that every home in B.C. has a working smoke alarm. The sustained, coordinated approach is part of a broad initiative to reduce fire-related deaths and injuries.
Newly hired probation officers support the implementation of the Strategic Training Initiative in Community Services (STICS), a program that introduces specific new interviewing techniques and approaches shown to reduce the rate of reoffending by 38 per cent for medium- and high-risk offenders. The probation officers were hired as part of the additional $9.5 million provided for community corrections in 2012.