The head of Community Living BC (CLBC) is responding to recent criticism of the organization levelled by families and caregivers.
The Crown corporation, which provides supports to adults with disabilities and complex needs, has been under the microscope in the wake of a coroner’s inquest into the death of Florence Girard.
Girard, who had Down syndrome, died of starvation in 2018 while living in a home-share under contract from CLBC.
In an interview with Global News on Monday, CLBC CEO Ross Chilton acknowledged the case has shaken people’s confidence in the organization.
“So it’s our job to rebuild that trust with families,” Chilton said.
The coroner’s inquest resulted in 13 recommendations, 11 of them directed at CLBC.
They included a call for greater financial support for family members or home-share providers caring for vulnerable people.
“That won’t be addressed until the budget comes out, but all the other ones we’re kind of actively pursuing,” Chilton said.
He added the Crown corporation was also the subject of an auditor general’s report around the time of Girard’s death, and has implemented “significant changes” since then.
In recent weeks, Global News has spoken with several families and home-share providers who say they have lost faith in CLBC.
Donna Smith cared for her sister Diane Craig, who was both quadriplegic and had Down syndrome.
The Williams Lake resident said it took her two years of battling to secure needed accessibility equipment for Craig, and she felt intimidated by the Crown corporation as she advocated for her sister.
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“Diane declined so quickly, and all the equipment took so long, some of it was not even usable by the time we got it,” she said.
“It seems like each piece of equipment needed three meetings and at least 10 people in the meetings,” she added. “Why did I have to fight for things that my sister needed?”
Chilton said safety remains the underlying driver of everything the organization does.
“We want to make sure that people are in situations that are safe, and if they are not safe we need to take action,” he said.
However, he said it is not CLBC’s responsibility to provide equipment. That, he said, is something that must be requested through the province.
Global BC also recently spoke with Melanie Piscia, a home-share provider who has continued to care for her client Kim despite not being paid in nearly 20 months. Piscia’s contract was terminated after an accident in her home, and while she was cleared of any wrongdoing, CLBC failed to find a new agency to contract with her.
The amount of money Ross Chilton gets just for his car expenses is more than what I would make in a year supporting Kim,” Piscia told Global News.
“So his car is more important than me.”
Records show Chilton received a nearly $12,000 vehicle allowance for the last fiscal year, part of a $310,000 total compensation package.
Altogether, executives at the Crown corporation were paid more than $1.4 million last year.
“It’s a pretty big job, and the jobs of the executive team are pretty big as well,” Chilton said.
“Our compensation is definitely within or lower than expected of compensation for people with our level of responsibility, so it is good value for the money.”
Chilton added administration makes up about 6.3 per cent of CLBC’s $1.7 billion budget, describing the organization as “very efficient.”
There have been growing calls in recent weeks for the provincial government to dismantle CLBC, and fold its responsibilities directly into the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction.
But Chilton maintains the Crown corporation remains well respected both in Canada and around the world, pointing to New Zealand, which he said recently modelled some of its disability supports on conversations with CLBC.
“CLBC was created by individuals, families and partners back in 2005, and the reasons it was created then still apply now,” he said.
“There does need to be kind of changes, certainly in terms of monitoring by agencies and oversight by CLBC, but I don’t see it as evidence that CLBC itself needs to be overhauled.
