The BC Conservative candidate in Westside-Kelowna is apologizing for comments he made about child poverty.
May 5, 2009
AM 1150 Local News
By: Charmaine de Silva - Kelowna

Peter Neville says he did not mean to say most children who live in poverty have single mothers and those mothers should give their kids up for adoption.  Neville says he meant to say there is a strong correlation between being a single-parent and living in poverty. He says single-parents should have an option to give up their kids, but still maintain some sort of contact with them.  Neville says there are a number of couples looking to adopt children, who could give them a good home.

The Westside-Kelowna Conservative candidate … The Coordinator of the Kelowna Women's Resource Centre says she finds Neville's comments appalling.   Mickey Smith says, "It gets really tiresome for me that we continue to blame women for these types of problems, instead of looking at the whole of society...it honestly drives me insane!"  Smith says many women live in poverty because they earn less than men.

Smith says we should focus our attention on finding solutions for the child poverty issue, such as creating a living wage, increasing welfare payments, and creating a national child care program.

Peter Neville's political opponents are not impressed either.  BC NDP candidate Tish Lakes says we already have problems with foster care.  Lakes continues, "this is just so wrong on so many levels."…