Independent review ordered into Community Living B.C. after starvation death
Social Sharing
The B.C. Crown corporation that oversees the care of developmentally disabled people will have its home-share program independently reviewed after an inquest into a starvation death earlier this year.
Florence Girard, a woman with Down syndrome, weighed about 50 pounds when she died in 2018 in the Port Coquitlam home of Astrid Dahl, a caregiver funded through Crown corporation Community Living B.C. (CLBC).
After the week-long inquest into Girard's death in January, a jury made 11 recommendations to CLBC, including better pay for front-line caregivers and changes to support family members of a vulnerable individual who want to care for their relative in their home.
CLBC, the corporation that oversees the care of developmentally disabled people, was created in 2005. It is in charge of caring for 29,000 British Columbians with disabilities such as autism, fetal alcohol syndrome and Down syndrome.
Now, the province says it is commissioning an independent review of the organization's home-sharing program, to be conducted by contractor Tamar Consultancy.
"We are reviewing CLBC's home-sharing program to ensure that changes made since 2018 are getting people the highest quality of service possible," read a statement from Poverty Reduction Minister Sheila Malcolmson.
The province's statement says that it would create an advisory body made up of individuals, families and service providers to inform the review and give recommendations to the ministry. The review is expected to be finished in the fall.
In a news release, the CEO of CLBC's board welcomed the independent review.
"We want to do everything we can to make sure this model is as strong as it can be, because this is about keeping people safe, and we believe the number of people supported through the home-sharing model will grow considerably," Shane Simpson said.
In its statement, the province says that CLBC made a number of changes after Girard's death in 2018, including mandating home visits every three months and annual doctor visits.
WATCH | Down syndome advocate and Girard's sister call for changes:
Sister hopes for systemic change as inquest into death of Florence Girard begins
5 months ago
Duration 14:50
Organization had faced calls for shakeup
Advocates and unions had called for a shakeup of CLBC after the inquest into Girard's death, including demands its board resign.
In a statement sent to CBC News at the time, CLBC said that none of its current board members were on the board in 2018 and that by law, the board must include representation from people with developmental disabilities, family members of those who receive services funded by CLBC, and Indigenous people.
Following the Girard inquest, CLBC's CEO provided an "unreserved apology" to Girard's family, friends and loved ones and said the organization had failed the B.C. woman's family.
In a statement at the time, CLBC said it welcomed the inquest's recommendations and said it was committed to taking concrete actions to strengthen the delivery of home sharing services.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
44 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Interest in ‘elbows up' merchandise waning ahead of Canada Day, businesses say
When Rachael Coe decided to launch an 'elbows up' merchandise line at her store in Yarmouth, N.S., in March, she said it was an immediate bestseller. Within a week, Coe said her Timeless Memories shop had already made 400 sales. By the end of the first month, she had sold 2,500 products ranging from T-shirts to hoodies to car decals. Demand for items bearing Canada's rallying cry against U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and annexation threats was so high that Coe launched a website to keep up with the surge. 'It was a response from all over Canada,' she said. 'We reached every single province then we started covering worldwide. Our 'elbows up' merch went everywhere.' Many Canadian businesses hopped on the patriotic trend that also saw Ontario Premier Doug Ford wearing a 'Canada is not for sale' ball cap ahead of a January meeting with Canada's premiers and prime minister. But Coe's sales started slowing down by May. And despite a slight boost ahead of Canada Day, she said the 'elbows up' line is now selling at similar rates to the classic red-and-white merchandise she sells every year around this time. Although business owners say they are selling more Canada-themed products this year leading up to July 1, many have also noted a decline in 'elbows up' merchandise sales. The rallying cry, initially embraced as a grassroots movement at the height of cross-border trade tensions and Trump's musings about making Canada the 51st state, has shifted to a more generic expression of Canadian pride amid continued tensions, retailers and experts say. Others note that the phrase 'elbows up' has increasingly been used in a partisan context, contributing to the marketing shift. Stephanie Tomlin, Toronto-based owner of the online business Shop Love Collective, said she saw an explosion in 'elbows up' merchandise sales in March, selling as many as 10 or 15 products per day. Similarly, her sales began to stagnate in May. Leading up to Canada Day, she said she's selling 'quite a bit more' merchandise compared with previous years, but that's due to interest in Canada-themed products across the board. 'I think the climate in Canada is a little bit more settled after the election and that … we feel like we will never be the 51st state,' Tomlin said, adding that Canadian patriotism is becoming less combative as annexation talks have died down. Howard Ramos, a professor of sociology at Western University, said 'elbows up' became 'more partisan than it used to be' when Prime Minister Mark Carney embraced the phrase in his election campaign ads in late March. 'It's just added to how the expression is dying down as a pan-Canadian claim,' he said. 'Now you see on social media, especially from Conservative handles, the use of 'elbows up' in a sarcastic way to criticize Mark Carney or Liberal policies.' Negative online comments about the 'elbows up' movement have discouraged Coe from promoting her products on Facebook. But when she's interacting with customers in her Yarmouth shop, she said the phrase isn't as divisive. 'It's not a political term, and it simply means that you're defending your country, and everyone should be defending our country, just like you would defend (against) a goal in hockey,' Coe said. Danielle McDonagh, owner of Vernon, B.C.-based Rowantree Clothing, said she stopped promoting her 'elbows up' merchandise on a large scale when she noticed the phrase being interpreted as an 'anti-Conservative' and 'boomer' movement. For McDonagh, increased concern about the political climate in the United States has also chipped away at the lightheartedness of the 'elbows up' movement. 'I think some of the levity is gone for me,' she said. While sales of her 'elbows up' products have dropped by about 90 per cent since hitting 1,000 in the first month, she said she continues to promote the merchandise in small batches at local markets in Vernon. Business owners say their customers continue to prioritize supporting the Canadian economy, as they are routinely answering questions about where their products are manufactured. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. And the push to buy Canadian isn't just coming from this side of the border. Coe said many American tourists arriving by ferry from Maine visit her shop in search of Canadian merchandise. '(Tourists) want to support us just as much as Canadians want to support us,' Coe said. McDonagh said her business sees similar interest from Americans. 'I'm shipping a lot of Canada-centric merchandise to the States, which I just love,' McDonagh said. 'People chat with me on my site and say … we're supporting you.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2025.
National Post
an hour ago
- National Post
Letters: Give war a chance
Re: ' At Times, War Is The Answer,' Anthony Koch, June 25. The National Post is a consistent source of thoughtful journalism, but Anthony Koch's recent commentary stood out as particularly compelling. It should be required reading for all Canadians — especially our political leaders and younger generations like millennials and gen Z. Article content I would respectfully add one point to the powerful assertion that, 'Negotiation is not what ends conflict. Victory is.' When dealing with Islamist extremist groups such as the Iranian regime, Hezbollah, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, victory cannot be partial or symbolic. These actors will not abandon their stated goals: the destruction of Israel and the destabilization of the West. Article content Article content Article content As Mosab Hassan Yousef — known as the 'Son of Hamas' — has said, even if one Hamas terrorist were left alive in the rubble of Gaza, he would rise and declare victory. So the question remains: does the West have the resolve to achieve true victory? Article content Article content Marc Friedman, Thornhill, Ont. Article content It is one thing to say that self-defence is justified in international relations; it is another to say that 'war is the answer.' One cannot help but think that Anthony Koch has never experienced the true horrors of war — of loved ones being killed, of deprivation, disease and chaos. People who say 'war is the answer' should immediately be given the opportunity to go to a war-torn area and live there until the war is over. One must be prepared to fight, but that does not mean that might is right. Patrick McKitrick, Burnaby, B.C. Article content While I agree with Anthony Koch's op-ed piece in the main, he overuses ideological examples, arguing that freedom and tyranny are always incompatible at the international level and that no amount of diplomacy can help. Article content For example, he argues that, 'The American Revolution did not occur because the colonists failed to write one more petition to the Crown. It occurred because liberty and imperial dominion could not share a continent.' Article content In fact, the Dominion of Canada and the assorted British colonies that preceded it did share the continent with the United States peacefully for some time after the U.S. came into existence, thanks to perpetual diplomacy, with the notable exception of the War of 1812. What's more, if the Whigs, and not Tories, had been running Britain in 1776, the revolutionary war might have been avoided though negotiation. Article content And while appeasement, as Koch points out, did encourage Hitler to start the Second World War, rampant nationalism and military enthusiasm throughout liberal democratic Europe did not deter German aggression in the First World War.
National Post
an hour ago
- National Post
Christopher Dummitt: Canada's long-standing tradition of sweeping its British roots under the rug
Article content As we toured through buildings from this historic village, each devoted to a different artisanal skill or aspect of life, the kids seemed perplexed. There was a blacksmith, a tinsmith, a print shop, a general store, and a schoolhouse. Each interpreter walked the kids through the seemingly primitive, yet amazingly complex, sets of skills and networks of knowledge that were represented at each station. Article content The tinsmith used eleven different specific tools as he made a star-shaped Christmas decoration. He pointed out that the tin he used would have had to be imported from Britain. The printing press was an amazing invention that transformed 16th century Europe and the societies that emerged out of it. It needed expensive skilled labour and was constantly being updated and modified to be more efficient. Tied to the market and democracy, the printing press was part of what made this rustic little village (and the real ones it is meant to represent) part of a wider network of ideas and things. There were also weavers using complex machines that were, in some ways, the first computers. Article content Article content And yet, at several points, as the interpreters turned to the kids for questions, one kept surfacing: 'Did the Indigenous make this?' Because they must have, right? Article content To which the interpreters replied, 'No,' and moved on. Article content So much of the social studies curriculum in Ontario tells kids to center Indigenous peoples and knowledge. How could these amazing things not come from Indigenous cultures? Article content It was at the replica church that things really got weird, though. There was no interpreter in this building, and so the kids were happy to run amok. One child walked up to the front and — reaching for the closest thing in his mind he could think of that might be a prayer — in mock, sonorous tones, he recited a land acknowledgment, which he knew by heart. Of course, he did. Article content Canadian schools got rid of the Lord's prayer a generation ago. It didn't fit with a modern diverse Canada. It has been replaced by land acknowledgments. Article content There was a time, not too long ago, when the school system didn't operate this way — when Indigenous history and contemporary concerns were not a major focus. There has been a lot of progress to rethink how we approach the Canadian past. Article content But there's also the Canadian tradition of turning a good thing into a stupid mess. Article content These young children know that they need to respect Indigenous cultures — and know that these cultures were sophisticated and fascinating. That's what they've learned. Article content But what they don't have are the lessons from an earlier time that would balance out this new appreciation. Instead, their lessons speak against an earlier way of thinking about the country. Without that earlier knowledge, what these kids are getting is the now off-balanced focus on reconciliation, relationships to the land, and inclusivity. Article content What they lack is the broader story of the settler societies that created Canada — about the dynamism of centuries of progress from the Scientific Revolution to the Enlightenment to the creation of modern forms of democracy, liberalism, and parliamentary institutions. Yet, this isn't part of the elementary curriculum. Article content This isn't the fault of any individual teacher (many of whom are wonderful). Article content
