The other day I was contacted by a young girl in care. She told me her worker had suggested she message me on Facebook. She told me a story of horrors about her former foster home, She said she witnessed what she termed beatings. She said, “we were locked in our rooms from the Read more…
“These are signs that we have a Provincial government in name only. Using a sports analogy our government “has lost the bench”. Here’s the thing. Big government is expensive. It is ineffective and inefficient. Business can do almost anything much better than government. Bureaucracy is bloated self-serving, overpaid, full of gravy from the Read more…
Why is it that the Minister for Children and Youth in this Province change more often than any other. Why do Ministers have no experience in this field, yet get to make decisions that throw parents into chaos, child care providers to close, and no trust at all. Why are the Ministers Read more…
I want to tell you I’m sorry but I know it’s going to ring hollow after everything you have been through. I know you have had to learn as a child that life is so unfair and when you told your story you lost everything as a result. I realize Read more…
“Pack up. You are leaving” I can imagine , says the man from the government to the First Nation youth. Shackled and put on a plane or seated in a van by 5pm they were gone. It sounds familiar because it is. On The Closing Of Youth Custody Facilities In Ontarios Read more…
The current Ontario government is uniquely unqualified to undertake the task of an ethical child welfare system reset. Our hope continues to rest with young people and First Voice advocates In the early 1990’s a group of youth in and from care making use of a ramshackle, grassroots centre supporting Read more…
Co- created with young people most marginalized from their rights We talked. Let’s act! I live in a semi detached on a small cul de sac in West End Toronto, my wife likes to say “downtown”, but we are not living downtown no matter how haughty that sounds. During the first wave of the pandemic everyone on our street seemed Read more…
I live in a non-descript semidetached on a quiet short cul de sac in west end Toronto. As I peered off my porch this morning, testing the air, I noticed four construction bins dotting the street. Its happened. My neighbours have stated “the hell with banana bread, we are on to Read more…
What do we do when a child dies in Ontario? What do we do when that child has not survived our collective attempts to protect them? Every three days on average a child dies who, within a 12 monthperiod, is somehow connected to our child protection system. Most of these children are still living Read more…
The news stories that make us ask “How can this happen in Canada?” have hit harder this year. Especially those that concern our most vulnerable children and youth. Alarmingly, during the COVID-19 pandemic, there are more children than ever in our country living far removed from their fundamental rights. To offer just Read more…