Child Welfare Cover-Up

February 27, 2006

Accountability Weakened Under Campbell

The Campbell government has not let the attempt by former Auditor General George Morfitt to improve accountability and performance in government get in the way of how it conducts the public's business. In 1995 Morfitt and the Council of Deputy Ministers produced a report titled "Enhancing Accountability for Performance in the British Columbia Public Sector"; it was followed in 1996 with a report titled "Enhancing Accountability for Performance: A Framework and An Implementation Plan". A progress report to the Legislature was made in 1998, and on the eve of his retirement, on March 21, 2000, Morfitt called on government "to focus its public reporting on intentions and results, instead of activities and processes." On March 27, 2000, then Finance Minister Paul Ramsey introduced the Budget Transparency and Accountability Act which implemented many of Morfitt's recommendations.

Section 12 of the Act requires government to table an annual strategic plan:

Government strategic plan

12 On or before the date when the main estimates are presented to the Legislative Assembly, a minister must make public strategic plan documents that

(a) set out the government's priorities,

(b) identify specific objectives and expected results,

(c) provide a fiscal forecast for the government reporting entity for the fiscal year for which the estimates are presented and the following 2 fiscal years, including a statement of all material assumptions and policy decisions underlying that forecast, and

(d) present other information that minister considers appropriate.

Strategic plans under the Campbell government are twisted bits of rhetoric which try to match legislative requirements with political rhetoric. The updated plan which was tabled in September 2005 referred to the work that was necessary to adopt the "Five Great Goals" that had been introduced in February. The update promised that "the 2006/07 - 2008/09 government strategic plan, that will be publicly released in February 2006, will detail … Critical performance measures, each with specific three-year targets so that British Columbians and government can gauge the effectiveness of our efforts to achieve our goals. These targets will represent important milestones in achieving the Five Great Goals by 2015/16."

Something got lost between September 2005 and February 2006 when the 2006/07 - 2008/09 strategic plan was tabled in the legislature. The latest plan fails to provide "specific three-year targets"; as shown in the table below its targets all refer to 2015/16 - nine years from now! Most of the current crop of politicians probably won't be in office nine years from now. The Campbell government needs to honour its promise to specify three-year targets so British Columbians can gauge the effectiveness of its efforts to achieve its goals. The measures and goals can be criticized for what they exclude relative to previous plans and relative to other jurisdictions, but at the very least they should be sufficiently comprehensive so the public can determine whether the government is meeting targets it has set for itself.

"Five Great Goals" and their Performance Measures
GOAL 1: Make B.C. the best-educated, most literate jurisdiction on the continent.
Measure	Baseline	Target
School Readiness	Provincial baseline data from 2004/05 show that 75% of kindergarten students are "ready to learn".	Increase that proportion to 85% by 2015/16.
Program for International Student Assessment (PISA)	The latest PISA results (2003) show that 75% of B.C. students have the reading abilities they need to thrive in a knowledge-based society, while 74% have the mathematics skills. Of 41 jurisdictions, including the United States and 10 provinces, B.C. is currently ranked third overall in reading, fifth in mathematics and sixth in science and problem solving. Among the provinces, B.C. is ranked second behind Alberta.	The 2015/16 target is to be the top performing PISA jurisdiction in Canada and to improve B.C.'s world ranking.
High school graduation	In 2004/05 the high school graduation rate was 79% in B.C.	By 2015/16 the target is to increase the rate to 85%.
Post-secondary certificate, diploma or degree	In 2004, 55.8% of British Columbians aged 25 - 64 had a post-secondary certificate, diploma or degree. The Canadian average is 56.9% and the United States average 39.1%.	The 2015/16 target for B.C. is to meet or exceed the Canadian average.
GOAL 2: Lead the way in North America in healthy living and physical fitness.
Life Expectancy at Birth	As of 2004, a baby born in B.C. can expect to live nearly 81 years. This is the highest life expectancy in Canada and greater than the life expectancy in the United States.	The 2015/16 target is to maintain B.C.'s Number 1 ranking in Canada and to increase British Columbians' life expectancy at birth to more than 81 years.
Physical activity of British Columbians aged 12 and over measured by the Canadian Community Health Survey	In 2003, 58.1% of British Columbians were active or moderately active in their leisure time (self-reported for more than 30 minutes of moderate physical activity per day).	By 2015/16 the target is to increase the proportion of physically active British Columbians from 58.1% to 73%.
Percentage of overweight or obese adults	In 2003, B.C. had the lowest percentage of overweight or obese adults in Canada; however, 42.3% of B.C. adults were still considered overweight.	The target for 2015/16 is to decrease that proportion from 42.3% to 32%.
Smoking rate for people aged 15 or older	At 15% in 2004, B.C. has the lowest smoking rate for people aged 15 or older. The overall Canadian result is 20%.	The target over time for the province is to continue to demonstrate a decrease in the smoking rate. For 2015/16 the target is a 13% smoking rate.
GOAL 3: Build the best system of support in Canada for persons with disabilities, those with special needs, children at risk, and seniors.
Disabled employment rate	The employment rate for working age British Columbians with disabilities was 44% in 2001, the fourth highest rate in Canada and substantially above the Canadian average of 41.5%.	The target for 2015/16 is to increase the employment rate significantly to 56%.
Percentage of school age disadvantaged children in a grade that is normal for their age.	In 2005, 86% of disadvantaged B.C. children were in their age appropriate grade.	For 2015/16 the target is 95%.
Seniors independent living	According to the 2001 Canadian census, 10.3% of British Columbians 75 or older were living in health care or related institutions such as nursing homes or senior citizens' homes. This rate was the second lowest in Canada.	Maintaining B.C.'s second place ranking in Canada is the target for 2015/16.
GOAL 4: Lead the world in sustainable environmental management, with the best air and water quality, and the best fisheries management, bar none.
Annual average fine particulate (pm 2.5) concentrations in major metropolitan areas.	Vancouver is ranked second in Canada with respect to its air quality (it has less fine particulate matter in its air than most comparable cities).	The 2015/16 target for this measure is to achieve a first place rank.
Per capita greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.	In 2003, B.C. had the third lowest per capita greenhouse gas emissions in Canada (behind PEI and Quebec). B.C. currently has more greenhouse gas emissions per capita than Oregon, but less than Washington	The 2015/16 target is to improve B.C.'s ranking.
Water quality trends	In 2004/05, 96% of the monitoring stations in the 30 water bodies under the Canada-BC Water Quality Monitoring Agreement had stable or improving water quality trends.	The 2015/16 target is to improve on this ranking.
GOAL 5: Create more jobs per capita than anywhere else in Canada
Number of new jobs created per 1,000 population compared to other provinces	In 2004, B.C. ranked third, behind Alberta and Nova Scotia. In 2005, B.C. was ranked Number 1.	The 2015/16 target is to achieve a first place ranking.