DEALING WITH THE FIFTH EVIL by Ron Dowle

The Burmese have a saying that mankind is afflicted by five evils: Fire, Flood, Tempest, Pestilence and Government. Of these Government is always with us, touching many aspects of our daily lives. It regularly has its hand in our wallets, but there are also occasions when we need help or information from it, or we just want to give our MLA a piece of our mind. Where do we go among more than 20 Ministries, and hundreds of Public Agencies of one kind or another? (To view this long list go to www.fin.gov.bc.ca/abc/index.htm). And when we get there, whom should we ask?

The resource, which can enable us to reach the program, which can deal with our problem, is the BC Enquiry Service, a key part of the Ministry of Management Services. It is a contracted service, and has been so since its inception. Staff are hired and trained by the contractor, BC Enquiry was set up on July 1991 under a Social Credit Government with a mandate to provide all British Columbians with ready access to Provincial Government information; it is in the frontline of demonstrating that government is open and accessible, a principle affirmed by successive Governments, and in ensuring access to government when and how needed. BC Enquiry can identify the area of government dealing with the subject of an enquiry and will refer enquirers to it. There is no charge for the service and enquirers can be connected, toll free, with the Ministry or Agency responsible, whether in Victoria or on the Mainland. Enquiries about policies, statistics, regulations or complicated matters are referred to the Department concerned but direct answers to common enquiries can be provided.

Access for those with hearing problems is available and since June 2000 the service has been expanded to include email enquiries. Enquiry BC is a user-friendly service and the staff takes pains to provide answers. It is there to be used. Last year the service dealt with over a million calls and a 10% increase is projected for this year. The largest numbers of enquiries are for Employment and Benefits Centres, MLAs, Court Services, PST matters and the Medical Services Plan.

Contact BC Enquiries at: (604) 660 2421 or 1 800 553 7867

Email enquiries to: EnquiryBC@gems3.gov.bc.ca

Another service available is the Multiple Address Change Service. By calling (604) 775 0011 or 1 866 775 0011 or by completing a simple on-line form at www.addresschange.gov.bc.ca your new address will be forwarded to: Medical Services Plan; ICBC (Driver's License; Elections BC (Voter Registration). These are the three Agencies to which most people need to notify address changes. An expansion of this service to other Agencies is under consideration. Since this service was set up in April 2001 it has been used by over 40,000 British Columbians.