Action plan
BC’s government has introduced a domestic violence action plan in response to recommendations made by Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, the independent children’s representative.
In March 2012, Turpel-Lafond released a report after investigating the murders of three children in Merritt by their mentally ill father, Allan Schoenborn. She found the three children, Kaitlynne, 10, Max, eight and Cordon, five, could have been saved if the province’s social safety net was working properly.
Led by the Provincial Office of Domestic Violence, which was created in March 2012, the action plan sets the course toward a coordinated approach to addressing domestic violence across the child and family-serving systems in BC.
More than 20,000 professionals throughout the province will receive training on addressing domestic violence as part of the action plan.
This year, training on recognizing and responding to domestic violence is being provided to approximately 4,000 school personnel and community partners and 2,500 support workers in victim services, violence against women and transition house programs.
Beginning in 2013, approximately 3,500 ministry of children and family development staff and an additional 13,000 school personnel will receive training regarding domestic violence. Police officers will receive additional training on assessing risk and safety planning.
“The BC government is committed to improving how we respond to domestic violence,” said Stephanie Cadieux, minister of children and family development, in a statement. “That’s why we immediately established the Provincial Office of Domestic Violence in response to the representative’s report. Under the guidance of that office, I am confident this action plan presents a strong, cohesive approach to protecting and supporting victims of domestic violence.”
Rain forecast
While it might not take a weatherman to tell which way the wind blows, or that this summer has been one of the longest and driest on record, it is surprising just how dry it has been.
Actual rainfall in August and September at the Powell River Weather Station has been substantially lower than regular seasonal averages, according to weather observer John Ede.
“The average expected rainfall for August is 44.6 [millimetres], we got seven millimetres,” said Ede. The dry weather continued through September with actual recorded precipitation of 15.6 millimetres, quite a bit lower than the average of 55.5 millimetres.
Although the weather has been unseasonably dry, the average recorded temperatures haven’t been far off. The daily maximum mean in Powell River for the month of September is 18.8° Celsius and the minimum is typically 7.9°. “We got a maximum of 20.1° Celsius and a minimum of 9° Celsius,” he said.
The decrease in rain over the period meant that the average number of hours of sunshine in September was, “way above average.” The average number of hours of sunshine for September is 206.1. “We got 251.8 hours.”
With rain in the forecast and temperatures dipping into single digits for the weekend, Powell River’s extended summer may be coming to an abrupt end.
So far, for the beginning of October, Ede said that rainfall has been just a small amount of drizzle that hasn’t amounted to much, but the average is 133.1 millimetres. “I guess it’s going to rain for the rest of the month,” he said.
