The Select Standing Committee on Children and Youth has been travelling across BC looking for feedback from parents and care providers of those with neuro-diverse special needs (e.g., ASD, FASD, developmental delay). A public hearing will be held in Castlegar on Thursday, May 23 to receive input from parents and care providers.
MLA for Powell River Sunshine Coast, Nicholas Simons, is the chair of the committee.
“Maybe we’re going to get some good ideas that we can make recommendations to government on because there are challenges in the field that haven’t been looked at by a parliamentary committee before, so I think for that reason it’s a good and important and timely topic,” said Simons.
He adds the meetings so far have been very productive.
“We’ve had people present with their perspectives that have been really helpful. We’ve heard things that we didn’t really expect to hear and we’ve heard stories that have confirmed some of things that we know about in terms of the challenges accessing services.”
He says it’s important as well to travel to different communities as the rural areas will bring a different perspective than in urban centres.
It’s held at the Sandman Hotel from 4:30 to 6:30 PM. British Columbians can also participate by phone. Registration is available by calling the Parliamentary Committees Office at 250 356-2933 or 1 877 428-8337 (toll-free in B.C.) or on the committee’s website.
The committee also welcomes written comments, which can be submitted via its website. The consultation continues until 5 p.m. on Friday, June 7, 2019.