2001-2002 Annual Report - Public Guardian and Trustee of British ...

A number of legal advocacy initiatives were accomplished this year and more
remain ongoing. We are continuing to pursue the litigation we commenced
on behalf of a number of clients sterilized under the authority of the British
Columbia Board of Eugenics between 1933 and 1972. We have submitted a
report to the Attorney General on how the Class Proceedings Act impacts
children and adults who require assistance in protecting their legal rights, and
have continued to take a number of creative steps to ensure that persons under
legal disability who are involved in class action law suits are apprised of their
legal rights and receive compensation to which they are entitled. I am proud
of our ground-breaking work in this area.
Our new Investment Advisory Committee provided us with assistance and
direction in developing and implementing new strategic investment policies.
Their expertise and advice enabled us
to create a more progressive approach
to investing that will particularly benefit
our long term clients. The modernized
investment provisions in the new Public
Guardian and Trustee Act enabled us
to prudently invest for our clients in
new ways. As a result, we were able to
create a new Balanced Growth Fund.
This has completed our “family” of
Public Guardian and Trustee funds. We developed over 600 new individualized
client investment plans this year - a significant achievement.
Throughout the year, our Advisory Board provided advice and
recommendations on the strategic direction, functions and effectiveness of
our services. I would like to thank each of the members for their assistance as
we continued with the formalized strategic planning process this year. Their
collective experience was especially beneficial to us in light of the stringent
accountability requirements set out in the new legislation.
I would also like to acknowledge the contribution of the many private sector
partners who provide service to the Public Guardian and Trustee and our
clients. Their expertise in fields such as investment, medicine, law, social
work, tax and property management is a real benefit to our clients. In particular,
I would like to recognize Mr. Mark Horne, former County Official
Administrator and subsequently Deputy Official Administrator for Vancouver
Island, who served in this role up until March 2002, and did so with distinction.
We continued to work closely throughout the year with communities across the
province seeking to improve support and assistance for adults who may be
abused or neglected, and to prevent such abuse from occurring in the first place.
We hosted the first provincial conference of Community Response Networks
made up of service providers, abuse prevention experts and advocates, caregivers
and family members. The commitment and spirit of volunteerism displayed at
the conference and throughout the year was inspiring.
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