The Gordon Campbell government may have pissed off the wrong group of people in the province—mothers.

Moms on the Move, a group of B.C. parents concerned about cuts to services for children and youth with special needs, is planning to hold a provincewide protest on Wednesday (October 28).

People in 20 communities will gather at various locations to voice their distress over funding cuts made to “critical services that support vulnerable children”, according to a press release sent out by MOMs.

The release reminds the government of a promise it made in 2005 to “build the best system of support in Canada” for children with special needs and those at risk.

It’s a promise that MOMs spokesperson Dawn Steele says Campbell has broken.

“The premier is cutting everything that was working and that was good, and bringing it down to the lowest common denominator,” Steele told the Straight in a phone interview.

According to the release, the provincial day of action hopes to shed light on the millions of dollars that have been cut from programs, including those dealing with infant development, supported child development, autism, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, and mental health.

Ministry of Children and Family Development staff have seen funding cut by $32 million while front-line children’s agencies have been forced to make a further $3.6 million in cuts, the release states.

Steele argues that a loss of funding to staff that manage and deliver critical child and family programs will further strain the system and have a “devastating impact on children and families who require that support the most”.

One of the primary roles that MOMs takes on is reaching out to families who are “at the end of their rope and can’t get help from government”, Steele said.

“When dealing with children who can become unmanageable, it’s heartbreaking in one sense but it’s also frightening in another,” she said.

Steele claimed that the government is trying to rationalize the cutbacks by using the argument that some kids aren’t getting access to programs so denying them to everyone is fair.

“Get rid of the program, get rid of the wait-list, get rid of the problem,” she chuckled. “It’s a very bizarre argument.”

In Vancouver, MOMs will protest by the Burrard Bridge and Oak Street Bridge.

Events are also planned in North Vancouver, Burnaby, Surrey, and Langley.