VICTORIA -- On Monday, B.C.'s watchdog for children roasted the provincial government for its "inadequate" reform of child protection services.

…. MLAs on the government side took the opportunity to haul their independent officer over the coals.

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, the representative for children and youth, appeared before a legislative finance committee yesterday seeking a 36-per-cent increase to her $6.5-million budget.

Liberal MLAs accused her of plucking budget numbers out of thin air, implied she was spending too much on administration and suggested she is overreaching her mandate.

"I don't have any idea of how much you spent. I don't know where the benefits are ... I'm seeking clarity here," Liberal MLA Randy Hawes (Maple Ridge-Mission) told Ms. Turpel-Lafond.

The all-party finance committee is responsible for the budget of the child and youth representative because she is an independent officer of the legislature.

…. "I am looking that you have around 57 per cent of the people will be involved with administration and advocacy, and approximately 43 per cent of the budget is going to go into monitoring and reviewing investigations," he noted.

Liberal MLA Iain Black (Port Moody-Westwood)…. He then asked whether Ms. Turpel-Lafond had gone beyond her mandate, which was set out in the Hughes report on child protection 18 months ago.

"If I read this right and if I understand you right, you've got a broader focus than that which was envisioned by [former judge Ted] Hughes. Am I right on that? Can you reconcile that for me?"

Ms. Turpel-Lafond responded: "Well, with the greatest amount of respect, you're not right on that one."

She told the committee she needed the larger budget to match an increase in her office's workload. Starting next month, the number of children at risk who fall under the responsibility of her office will increase from 9,200 to 13,700.

"This is a Chevy model. This is not a Mercedes model," Ms. Turpel-Lafond said. "We are transparent, we are open, we are accountable, and we are miserly as a result."

While the New Democrat Party MLAs on the committee supported Ms. Turpel-Lafond's request, Liberal MLA Bill Bennett, the finance committee chair, got in the last word, noting that her request was the largest of the eight independent officers of the legislature. (Other officers include the ombudsman, the auditor-general and the police-complaints commissioner.)

What would happen, he asked, if they turned her down?….