Volunteers aren’t second class
Letters to the Editor
August 27, 2008
Free advice is worth every penny. The Province of PEI pays the volunteers on its review committees nothing but tea and sandwiches. They value the volunteers’ opinions even less.
On the other hand it hands out hundreds of thousands of dollars to consultants to run the review committees. Guess whose opinions matter more to Premier Ghiz? Exactly, it’s the paid consultants.
The Minister’s Advisory Committee on Disability was formed to deal with the recommendations of the Baker Report. Baker made over 27 recommendations to improve the DSP back in 2003.
The Advisory Committee had goodwill but no budget. No one was paid for their time hence their time was worthless. The Government paid no attention to the few reports issued by the Advisory Committee.
Fast forward to 2007. The Liberals form the Disability Services Review Committee to advise how the DSP should be reformed. Disability Alert nagged them for a year to do it.
There were 11 unpaid volunteers sitting on the committee to re-invent the Baker Report. How important was their advice? Probably not very much because Minister Currie didn’t want to pay them anything.
Minister of Social Services and Seniors, Doug Currie
However, Currie did pay Myrtle Jenkins-Smith $100,000 to organize the committee, book the government board room, and order the sandwiches.
Hmm, whose advice will Currie listen to? Actually it works the other way around. Jenkins Smith is there to keep the SRC from issuing a report that will embarrass the government.
Jenkins Smith is a high placed Currie election worker. She has Currie’s ear. At the Christmas Party for his riding, Currie spent half the time in a conversation with Jenkins-Smith. Then and there our goose was cooked. Score 100 points for patronage appointment and zero points for disability reform. (italicized portion from original letter)
The government is fooling Islanders into believing their volunteer work on committees is important.
Free advice, worth every penny.
Everyone is waiting for the report and Currie’s actions. We’re probably going to be disappointed since this was a set-up.
Stephen Pate, PEI Disability Alert
Charlottetown, PE
