Almost two weeks after the writs had dropped in the BC election the only mention of the Missing Women's Commission of Inquiry (MWCI) and the important issues surrounding marginalized sex workers were by a Conservative candidate who thinks the inquiry was a waste of time.
Hardly the talk of progress Wally Opal and others hoped for at the time the inquiry closed. Yet it seems the priority that was being given to the Downtown Eastside and its marginalized women--and other marginalized women throughout the province--disappeared as soon as the TV cameras did.
Recently, the organization PACE, which works primarily with survival sex trade workers here in Vancouver, was rejected for increased funding by the provincial government. This happened at a time when other organizations working with sex trade workers have shuttered their doors, leading to a near doubling of PACE's workload in the past few years. At a time when the organization should be hiring more staff to meet the increased demand they've instead had to lay workers off, increasing the workload of those who remain, and leaving those they try to help at even greater risk.
PACE's funding request was met with a letter from the Ministry of Justice noting that "$750,000 was provided to the WISH Drop-In Centre upon the release of the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry Report to expand the services provided to vulnerable women in the downtown eastside."
This ignores promises following the Missing Women's Inquiry that the $750,000 provided to WISH was just the beginning.
Of course that was then, when the press was focused on the issue, and this is now when they are not. Without the TV cameras looking on and reporters asking questions it seems that's all there is. It almost seems that the money's on the dresser and if there's nothing left you can get out, according to the provincial government.
Now it seems we're back to the attitudes this government held when they decided not to fund WISH, PACE, PIVOT and numerous other groups' participation in the Missing Women's Inquiry - effectively making their participation a fiscal impossibility. At the time two successive Attorneys General, Barry Penner and Shirley Bond, cited budget challenges and financial priorities as reasons the groups simply couldn't be funded. MWCI report or not, the women who stroll the same streets and alleys from which Robert Pickton snatched 49 of their sisters apparently still aren't much of a priority.
And while sex worker outreach organizations and others on the Downtown Eastside have come to expect little attention or help from the BC Liberals, the silence on behalf of Adrian Dix and the NDP has been deafening. In recent days Dix has said the campaign so far has reflected his party's priorities.
Where is the Opposition Leader who repeatedly called out the government during the inquiry to fund groups, and to extend the Inquiry beyond its scheduled report date of June, 2012, when it was clear there were still important questions to be asked? Where is the Adrian Dix who sat with the families of the murdered and missing women and who called their cause his own?
It's time for the politicians to speak out, and to let us know what their plans are to address the issues, often lethal issues, affecting survival sex trade workers and other marginalized women. It's time to take action on the promises, those made and those implied, that followed the Missing Women's Inquiry. Because, frankly, the women those promises were made to have faced too many broken promises in their lives. Should another batch of broken promises come at the hands of B.C.'s next government, no matter who forms it, while those women might not be surprised they will once again be heartbroken.
One thing might be made clear though: the difference between sex work and prostituting oneself. Because it will be clear that our political leaders have made their choice.
Full disclosure: Reive Doig sits on the board of PACE. It is an unpaid, volunteer position.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this post stated $750,000 was provided to PACE. In fact, this funding was granted to WISH. This version has been updated