There are indications the provincial government may introduce controversial legislation that will allow authorities to detain at-risk youths against their will, and that has civil liberties and youth advocacy groups concerned.
The idea dates back to when the New Democrats were in power. In 2000, the party passed just such a bill amid protests from those groups.
"We fear that these powers will result in civil liberties violations and long-term detriment to those who need help most," wrote Murray Mollar, then-B.C. Civil Liberties Association policy director, in an editorial published in the Vancouver Sun.
But that legislation - which would have created an independent board that could detain youths in danger of sexual exploitation, drug addiction or other forms of self-harm - was never proclaimed into the law.
The Liberals watered down the concept in 2004, proposing a court-administered system focusing on youth in prostitution.
But that proposal, which would have decreased the maximum detention time from the 100 days allowed in the New Democrats' legislation to 30 days, was shelved.
Now, five years later, the Ministry of Children and Family Development has dusted off the idea, which was modeled after an Alberta law.
In June, Public Eye filed a freedom of information request for any and all records from 2009 that referenced proclaiming the New Democrats' old Secure Care Act, introducing the Liberals' shelved Safe Care Act or bringing forward similar legislation.
The response: an $895 fee assessment for the "search, retrieval and production" of those records.
That means the government is talking about the issue behind closed doors. But they're not saying much in public.
"I am not going to comment on legislation that may be introduced - but certainly this form of legislation has been considered for a number of years and it's something we continue to examine," said Mary Polak, B.C. Minister of Children and Family Development.
Nevertheless, what little Public Eye has been able to find out has advocates worried.
"We don't believe that forced confinement works. We think it's not the way to help girls out on the street," said Asia Czapska, who works with the Vancouver-based non-profit Justice for Girls.
"I think rather than going after the abusers, this government has taken the completely harmful approach of going after the girls."
For her part, the civil liberties association's present policy director, Micheal Vonn, said the fact the government is even considering the "militarized capture of children" is "absolutely of significant concern."
"A government program that essentially involves detention of youth to prevent 'high-risk behaviour' is absolutely unconscionable in the absence of a working network of voluntary services "for those children," he said.
Minority report
The provincial New Democrats could abandon a divisive affirmative action policy that saw 20 ridings reserved for women and minority candidates.
The policy was approved at the party's 2007 convention. But it came with an expiry date: the 2009 election campaign.
During the election, then-party spokesman David Bieber told The Province, "It's certainly something we think has worked out quite well. We're certainly pleased."
Nevertheless, the New Democrats had always intended to review that policy after the campaign - a process that's presently being undertaken by an oversight committee, according to party president Sav Dhaliwal.
And, as part of the review, Dhaliwal said the committee is surveying affirmative action constituency associations and candidates to "see how they felt about (the policy) and if they would like us to continue."
The party executive is expected to deliberate the committee's findings and recommendations in mid-September.
The matter will then be discussed at the New Democrats' November convention.
"We can't just let it expire and not talk about it because we went through a lot of work and we at least wanted to share the experience with the delegates," Dhaliwal said.
The party president said the committee could recommend scrapping the present affirmative action system or it could "come back with an equity mandate strategy (for 2013) that's exactly the same or some variation of it."
In the last election, 42 of the New Democrats' 85 candidates were women.
By comparison, the Liberals had 25 female candidates.
Sean Holman is editor of the online provincial political news journal Public Eye (publiceyeonline.com). He can be reached at [email protected].
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