Kyle McQuary, newest research fellow at the John Burfitt Institute, and the Very Honorable May H. Van, MLA, CSS, Minister for Youth and Sport for the Province of Deltaland, drink tea in a café across from the provincial capitol.
“So, Mr. McQuary, now you’ve seen the centers in person. What did you think?
“Minister, I was very impressed. Back in the capital, we weren’t able to find funding to open youth centers more than three days a week. But here, you have care five days, plus classes and activities, even on weekends. The centers themselves are very nice, but it’s the level of funding that I can hardly believe.”
“Well, much as I’d like to, I can’t take credit for that. The last government worked out a grand bargain between all the cities and the provincial youth and senior citizens ministries to share staff and resources: all the ancillary support staff like cleaning, procurement, and personnel, and even things like using the same music instructors for youth and senior programs. Reducing redundant functions allowed us to redirect what funding we had toward front-line staff. We disagreed in a lot of other ways, but the last senior and youth ministers made a great accomplishment here.”