Cost effectiveness! The BC Liberal Way

"It wasn't about money, it was never about saving money!" That according to Stan Hagen, the minister in charge of Human Resources, currently on the hot seat over a rather over the top study by his department.

Hagen's department spent 5 million dollars to eventually eliminate 46 people from the welfare rolls, a pretty extravagant "cost - result" ratio, even for this government. In the process, his department's officials caused far more stress on disabled British Columbian's, than really was necessary.

British Columbia's Auditor General, Wayne Streiloff released his report to the legislature this week. In it he blasts the government for it's project, which he says "was not well thought out" and "unecessarilly increased anxiety within a particularly vulnerable group of people". Streiloff went on to say, that while the government needs to investigate that those receiving benefits were eligible, this five million dollar project was not very successful at it. Instead he recommended that a simple statistical study, would have come up with the desired results at much less cost in finances and even less cost on the health of those investigated.

For all it's trouble, the government found out that less than one percent of the folks receiving disability benefits, weren't entitled to them. One wonders what better use five million dollars could have found around the province. But as Minister Hagen said himself, "it was never about saving money".

Indeed, money is not any object. Especially, when the BC Liberals put their dogma ahead of their dollars!