MPP for Leeds-Grenville Steve Clark is speaking up about victim services.
In a press release MPP Clark says thanks to a lack of government funding staff at Victim Services of Leeds and Grenville find themselves facing a crisis. The situation has reached a point where MPP Clark used a Member’s Statement at Queen’s Park to call for immediate action from the Ontario Attorney General.
MPP Clark points out that under the province’s funding formula the agency is only funded for initial contact. This formula, which MPP Clark calls outdated, is based on 849 new victims a year and doesn’t consider victim services is mandated to provide on-going support including the development of safety plans.
This year’s statistics from victim services show they have already assisted 1,175 new victims and are on pace to reach 2,000 in 2017-2018. MPP Clark says this shouldn’t be a surprise to the Attorney General because this issue was raised in a letter by the Victim Services of Leeds and Grenville board chair in November of 2016. According to MPP Clark instead of acting on a serious issue the government waited eight months to respond and deferred any review of funding for another year.