B.C. Children ministry review doesn't go far enough, says lawyer
Lawyer of mother of abused children, child advocate cite concerns with ministry review
The lawyer for the mother and children at the centre of an abuse case involving B.C.'s Ministry of Children and Family Development says the scope of a new independent review doesn't go far enough.
The ministry announced a review into the case of a father who molested his toddler despite a court order banning unsupervised visits. Former civil servant Bob Plecas will be conducting the review.
Jack Hittrich, the lawyer for the mother known only as J.P., said he's disappointed with its scope.
"The review should focus on how things went this horribly wrong," he said.
"There is zero doubt that the ministry failed in almost every aspect in this case, so the review shouldn't be focusing on whether anything went wrong."
A B.C. Supreme Court judge found that the ministry showed "reckless disregard" when it falsely accused the mother of being mentally ill and removed four children from her care in 2009.
Hittrich said the government vilified his client when she complained of abuse of her four children by their father.
"The focus should be on ensuring that there's better accountability, better avenues for redress for people like J.P.," he said.
He also wants the government to apologize to his client and move towards a settlement.
Review a 'protection of the ministry's interest'
B.C.'s Representative for Children and Youth, Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, was equally dismayed by the announcement of the review.
"The ministry wanted to look at this case by somebody other than myself with a lens perhaps more on the protection of the ministry's interest," Turpel-Lafond said on The Early Edition.
She said Plecas, as a private citizen, shouldn't be given files with the family's private information.
"My office has the type of confidentiality protections so that when we work with families we're extremely careful, because you can't bring people in randomly into government and say 'have a look at this file and tell us what you think,'" said Turpel-Lafond.
The province, however, says the review will improve the ministry's policies, practice, and standards.
With files from Chad Pawson and The Early Edition