B.C. names new advocate for kids
CHAMPION: Respected former lawyer, social worker and politician ‘doesn’t flinch’ when going gets tough
VICTORIA — B.C.’s new child and youth representative is a former politician and legislative watchdog from New Brunswick with a reputation for not flinching away from a fight to improve services and supports for the most vulnerable.
An all-party committee of B.C. MLAs on Tuesday named Bernard Richard as the acting representative for children and youth, starting Nov. 27, while a second committee recommended he get the full-time job in February.
Richard is a former lawyer, social worker and New Brunswick MLA. He served in opposition and as a cabinet minister before resigning to become that province’s ombudsperson and later its first child and youth advocate.
When he retired in 2011, then New Brunswick premier David Alward praised him as “a tremendous advocate for some of the most vulnerable.” The government urged him to stay in the job, but Richard told local media the hard work had taken a toll on him emotionally.
Richard went on to serve on the board of Plan Canada, an international development agency that helps improve the lives of children abroad.
Plan CEO Rosemary McCarney told the New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal in 2011 that Richard “doesn’t flinch and he doesn’t draw back from the tough stuff that needs to be done and the risks that need to be taken to actually get things done in tough environments.”
McCarney is now Canada’s ambassador to the United Nations.
“He’s a pretty impressive individual,” said B.C. Liberal MLA Don McRae, who chaired the all-party committee that selected Richard. “His range of references was just impeccable about the respect for him, and the work he’s done.”
Richard will replace Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, B.C.’s outspoken first children’s representative who has been lauded for her fearless approach to child welfare, as well as for challenging the B.C. government in her reports and in court.
Richard appears to have a similar pedigree. He took New Brunswick’s children’s ministry to court to gain access to child protection files after investigating the death of a twoyear-old who died from neglect in 2004.
He pushed for years to improve mental health services for youth after the death in prison of a 19-yearold Moncton teenager in Ontario. He fought to have the government release daycare inspection reports publicly.
Turpel-Lafond and Richard appear to share concern over the high number of aboriginal kids in government care. In B.C., she has reported that while 5.4 per cent of the population is aboriginal, aboriginal children account for 53 per cent of kids in government care.
Deputy committee chair and NDP MLA Michelle Mungall said B.C. politicians heard “wonderful things” from New Brunswick First Nations about Richard.
“One of the reasons all of us liked him was it was really clear that putting children first and his passion for children’s well being was top of mind for him,” Mungall said.
“We were all looking for that. Somebody who, no matter who becomes government after May 9, he’s going to be holding them accountable to make sure he’s working for children and youth in this province.”
For her part, Turpel-Lafond issued a statement welcoming Richard.
“I had the privilege to work closely with Mr. Richard when he was child advocate in New Brunswick and was impressed with his knowledge, child-focus and capacity to be an independent advocate to effect change,” she said.