Review announced into case of BC father who molested child despite order against unsupervised visit
Posted July 16, 2015 11:27 am.
Last Updated July 16, 2015 3:52 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VICTORIA (NEWS 1130) – BC’s children’s minister has announced a review into the case of a father who molested his toddler despite a court order preventing unsupervised visits.
A BC Supreme Court judge ruled earlier this week that the social worker assigned to the case and the director of child protection acted recklessly by fighting that court order which called for four children to be placed with their mother.
Instead, they believed the father’s story and tried to have the mother found mentally unfit.
Stephanie Cadieux says her ministry will review all of the policy and practice concerns, as well as the human resource implications raised by the case. She says the public deserves to know that the child welfare system is accountable but she will provide details of the review at a later time.
The NDP grilled Cadieux in the legislature today, with party leader John Horgan questioning why she has not apologized for the ministry’s actions. He says Cadieux is refusing to answer how many other court orders the ministry has ignored or how many other children have been put at risk.
BC’s Children’s Representative is sceptical of the review
Children’s watchdog Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond doesn’t understand why the ministry isn’t taking immediate action.
“Address the competency of the staff but also address whether there are other files in which they acted which displayed any similar concerns.”
She has no confidence a ministry which defended its actions for years is capable of conducting a meaningful review. “It’s going to be very difficult for that to be a credible effort when they’ve spent the last six years continuing down the road of saying that the mother was responsible for what happened here.”
Turpel-Lafond says she has offered her help, but so far, her office is not involved.
