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More recent news

Mother Not Guilty of Kidnapping

October 27, 2001 permalink

A woman who abducted her own triplets and took them to Mexico has been found not guilty of kidnapping by a jury in Stratford Ontario. Here is the story on Yahoo recovered from the internet archives. This may reduce the authority of fathers, or increase the authority of parents.

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Friday October 26 4:59 PM EST

Stratford, Ont. jury acquits mother in abduction of eight-year-old triplets

LAURA CZEKAJ, Stratford Beacon-Herald

STRATFORD, Ont. (CP) - A stunned father trembled with disbelief Friday as a jury acquitted his ex-wife of fleeing Canada with their triplets in a bid to dodge a looming custody battle.

Carline Vandenelsen, charged with abducting the eight-year-old triplets last October, had pleaded not guilty by reason of necessity, saying she was acting in the best interests of her kids.

Delighted supporters and family members erupted in cheers and applause when they heard the verdict, then took turns embracing a relieved Vandenelsen as she wept with joy.

"I'm just elated that justice was served," she said of a verdict that had phones ringing madly at call-in radio and television shows across Ontario.

Vandenelsen said the jury vindicated her fears of the damage caused to children at the centre of custody disputes which often result in "mud-slinging" in family court.

"Power and politics and personal agendas don't belong there because children suffer," she said.

"We need to address real issues in a family court of law, and not necessarily the mud-slinging and who's the rightful parent - it's the rights of the children to be nurtured by both parents."

Craig Merkley, the children's father and for six years their primary custodian, was visibly shaken by the ruling, which came after nearly 12 hours of deliberation by the eight-man, four-woman jury.

"I think they just declared open season (for) anyone who wants to abduct their children," he said outside court.

Vandenelsen's international odyssey with Peter, Gray and Olivia Merkley began in October 2000, when the three kids were whisked away during a supervised day visit with their mother.

In evidence read to the jury, Peter Merkley described how he and his brother and sister were smuggled across borders in the trunk of a car.

More than three months later, police following Vandenelsen's trail caught up with her in Acapulco, Mexico. The children were reunited with their father in January.

On Thursday, Justice James Donnelly instructed the jurors to decide whether Vandenelsen took the children from their home because she honestly believed they were in emotional danger.

"The court must be satisfied that the taking of any young person was necessary to protect the young person from danger of imminent harm," Donnelly said.

The necessity defence is rarely allowed because it must meet specific conditions, said Hamish Stewart, a criminal law professor at the University of Toronto.

"The Supreme Court has indicated that this is a pretty narrow defence and so it's unusual to see it raised and it's more unusual to see it succeed."

To acquit by reason of necessity, a reasonable person must conclude there was an emergency situation requiring immediate action from which there was no legal escape, Stewart said.

The benefits of the action must also outweigh the harm, he added.

"In a hypothetical example, the court says if you have to rush someone to the hospital and you break the speeding laws, that would be excused by necessity."

Call-in shows across southwestern Ontario came alive Friday with talk of the mid-morning verdict; informal polls suggested that a majority of callers disagreed with the jury's findings.

"I think it's an atrocity that she got off," said one male caller, appalled by the "absolutely disgusting" fact the children were smuggled across the U.S.-Mexico border in the trunk.

"The effect it would have on the children would probably be long-lasting."

Other callers were sympathetic to Vandenelsen's plight. "I think she's done well," said a man in London, Ont. "She did what she had to do."

Hamish said the verdict likely won't spawn a rash of abductions by parents, simply because it's a difficult defence to mount. The Supreme Court disallowed the same tactic in the case of Saskatchewan farmer Robert Latimer, who was convicted of murder in the death of his severely disabled daughter, he noted.

As she took the stand in her own defence during an emotional trial, Vandenelsen tearfully described her mounting frustration and fear during a bitter custody dispute last year.

She was only able to see the children every other Saturday, and a court motion filed by Merkley, who was growing worried about what Vandenelsen was planning, would have cut off her access completely.

Police said Vandenelsen spent months preparing for the trip, renting her house, putting belongings in storage, disconnecting her phone and cashing in $60,000 worth of investments.

Defence lawyer Clay Powell told jurors they had to determine if Vandenelsen was acting in what she thought was the best interest of the kids.

"Desperate people do desperate things, and maybe the most desperate of all when your children are on the line."

Vandenelsen said she plans to keep pushing for greater access to the children at a hearing scheduled for December.

Source: Yahoo news

Addendum: The original Yahoo link is dead, but here are two articles from differing viewpoints, the first by Brian Carnell, and the second taken from a now-dead web link.

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She just had to do it
An accused child-napper, captured in Mexico, is declared not guilty of abducting her triplets

By Marnie Ko

Craig Merkley of Stratford, Ont., was given interim custody of his triplets Peter, Grey and Olivia in 1995, when they were two. Their mother, Carline (pronounced Caroline) VandenElsen, had abandoned them with plans to become a rock singer. But she soon began a bitter custody battle, and on October 14, 2000, just days before her next scheduled court appearance, she took the triplets and vanished.

Ms. VandenElsen later said she feared her visitation rights were about to be severely curtailed. She was found with the triplets in Acapulco, Mexico, on January 21, 2001, and was brought back to Canada and charged with three counts of parental abduction. The children were returned to their father. But last month, Mr. Merkley sat in disbelief in a Stratford courtroom as a jury found his ex-wife not guilty of kidnapping.

Ms. VandenElsen has had visitation rights since 1997, two Saturdays each month. But a Stratford Superior Court judge ruled that year that she was unsuitable as a parent, and in 2000 a child psychiatrist heard taped telephone calls in which VandenElsen harshly disparaged the children's father. A court hearing was set for October 23, and the mother feared her visitation rights would be revoked. It was then, she told the court, that she felt all legal avenues were exhausted. In her mind, she testified, she was not selfish, but was thinking of "the best interests of the children." In her lawyer's words, she "objectively believed" it was necessary to take them.

Mr. Merkley says, "Peter told me Carline gave them a choice when she first took them. She told them that I was going to take them away from her and that she would never see them again. She told them they could come home to me, or go with her. The children said they would go with her."

The children told their father they watched the television report on their disappearance and felt sad. "They were upset they didn't get a chance to say goodbye to me," says Mr. Merkley.

During the manhunt, Ms. VandenElsen was featured on America's Most Wanted television show. Police said at the time she was prone to impatience, fits of anger and defiant stances against authority. Her ex-husband alleges she is emotionally unstable, erratic, and has been neglectful of the children. In a statement to police, Peter, now eight, described hiding in a car trunk and sleeping on an old, beat-up couch at an airport in Mexico. He said he missed his father. On February 1, from prison in Acapulco, Ms. VandeNelsen said she was on the verge of returning the children to their father, but they did not want to go home.

The triplets practised being in the trunk of the car. Peter told his father they had signals. If their mother turned the radio on loud three times, it meant to be quiet and stay still in the trunk. In court, however, Ms. VandenElsen said the kids were only in the trunk six minutes.

The triplets reported they were allowed to take only one toy and had to "walk a lot." They told their father they walked daily to Wal-Mart to get food, although to avoid attracting attention, VandenElsen would take only one child out at a time. The other two children, then age seven, were left alone in their apartment on a seedy back road of Acapulco, high above the five-star vacation hotels. Olivia, who had long hair and loved ponytails and braids, was shorn so short she looked like a boy. Peter was bitten by a dog. He received rabies shots when he returned home. The children had recurrent ear infections and were found covered with insect bites. After the family was traced, Mr. Merkley was flown to Acapulco, and found the boys walking alone, one shirtless, down a hill from the apartment. It was a tough neighbourhood and dogs and people were lying in the gutters. Olivia was returned to him shortly afterward.

"The boys ran into my arms. Olivia's hair was so chopped up I didn't recognize her at first. We just looked at each other for a moment. She slowly leaned forward and grabbed my neck and held on very tight," says Mr. Merkley, with a catch in his voice.

Ms. VandenElsen recently terminated the services of her lawyer (believed to be her sixth) and is representing herself in the ongoing custody battle. Mr. Merkley maintains the children are hurt by the twice-a-month visitation their mother was awarded in October (see story, page 23), even though she is under orders not to mention the court case to them. "They came in after one visit and did not say hello," he says. "They said, 'We have to go to court and tell the judge what we really want in our heart.'

"I firmly believe she is continuing to manipulate them."

Source: marnieko.com

Inquest into death following CAS seizure

October 25, 2001 permalink

Gillian and Ralph Hadley died in a murder/suicide a few months after the seizure of their child by the Durham Children's Aid Society. FACT is the only non-taxpayer funded group with standing at the inquest. Here is their report, followed by a long list of annotated clippings from the Toronto newspapers.

Dufferin Family Loses Court Fight

October 18, 2001 permalink

A Dufferin family has been wrangling with Children's Aid for two years, including a full-blown trial, in an effort to save their children from adoption. Yesterday, relying on the testimony of psychiatrist Diane Benoit, the court took the children from the family, making them available for adoption. While legal grounds for appeal exist, they may never be heard, since the family has been driven to bankruptcy by the lengthy proceedings. In an extraordinary move, the parents are not allowed to have a copy of the judge's opinion. They can only view it with a lawyer looking over their shoulder.

The laws of Ontario, and respect for family privacy, prevent us from publishing the names of families involved in this, and most other cases. Journalists wishing to confirm the facts in this case, or any other mentioned on this website, may obtain full contact information by approaching us privately.

Lawyers Skimp on Children

October 7, 2001 permalink

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Legal wrangling targets kids

Children 'caught in middle' of legal battle, lawyer says

BY Roger Varley, Staff Writer
Oct. 7, 2001
Era-Banner

Children who have suffered abuse or neglect might be spending more time in foster care because of a pay dispute involving lawyers who represent youngsters in child protection cases.

"It makes me feel dreadful," said Barbara Steinberg at the Newmarket courthouse Friday. "It's very troubling to us. We're taking this step as a last resort and with great reluctance."

Steinberg is one of about 15 lawyers in York Region who handle child protection and custody cases for the Office of the Children's Lawyer, a division of the Attorney-General's Ministry. The York Region panel stopped accepting new cases Sept. 1 to protest the fact their pay hasn't increased in 14 years.

"We're very dedicated to providing excellent representation to children in this province," Steinberg said. "We had a reasonable expectation of an increase. We're concerned about kids caught in the middle. We really want to go back to work."

Some children involved in protection cases will spend more time in foster care if the matter is not resolved quickly because courts and children's aid societies won't be able to resolve the cases as quickly, Steinberg said.

Currently, lawyers are paid $71 an hour, which many say doesn't even cover their costs.

Steinberg and two of her colleagues, George van Hoogenhuize and Carolyn Jones, said children's cases account for about 30 per cent of their practices.

Lawyers have to apply to be accepted to the children's lawyer panels. Steinberg and van Hoogenhuize have been on the York Region panel for 12 years and Jones has been a member for 14 years.

Steinberg said the approximately 40 provincial panels are beginning to speak with one voice on the pay issue. She said close to 20 have stopped taking new cases and another 10 are considering the same action.

"One of the difficulties is each region has its own panel," said van Hoogenhuize. "Up to now, there has been nobody to unify the panels and there hasn't been a lot of communication between them."

"Frankly, I enjoy representing children," he said. "I know I'm doing something to help them in difficult family situations. The kids are caught in the middle."

Steinberg pointed out social workers involved in children's court cases, "who were grossly underpaid", recently received a 150-per-cent increase.

"We're happy for them, but we feel we should also be treated fairly," she said. "Social workers act as our witnesses (in some custody and protection cases), but we carry the responsibility for the cases. And social workers have less overhead than us."

Van Hoogenhuize said lawyers taking children's cases have to go for training twice a year without pay.

He said the York Region panel will not accept any more cases "unless we see some progress".

He said the Attorney-General's ministry has not set a time frame for reviewing the payment issue, although he pointed out the Office of the Children's lawyer has suggested it would push for a review.

Brendan Crawley, a spokesperson for the Attorney-General's ministry, said Attorney-General David Young "is committed to addressing the issue in the near future".

"The ministry is monitoring the situation closely and is taking steps to make sure children in the province are protected," Crawley said.

"The government appreciates the dedication of the lawyers and recognizes the vital role they play," he said, adding that until the issue is resolved, the Office of the Children's Lawyer has lawyers on staff who can handle the most serious cases.

He made no comment regarding the lawyers' pay.

Steinberg admitted the lawyers' move could have a significant impact on children and families needing their services.

"We give children a voice, especially in custody and access cases," she said. "Cases we're involved in get settled earlier. And we have a different role than child care workers in child protection matters. We are the voice for children's preferences."

Van Hoogenhuize said children's lawyers become involved only in difficult custody battles in which a judge or parent requests the child be represented. Lawyers acting for children in custody battles are paid by the Office of the Children's Lawyer because there would be conflict of interest if one or both of the parents were asked to pay.

"Besides," he added, "kids tend to be concerned more about their parents and their ability to pay and it adds stress to them."

The original article (now expired) was at: http://yorkregion.com/article/full/fullview/1R9MM-7D

Tilson on Child Abuse

August 24, 2001 permalink

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from the Orangeville Banner August 24, 2001

Region in need of foster parents

Many abused children with no place to go need safe homes

David TILSON - MPP REPORT

As parents, we hope to provide our children with the necessities of life. Many of us succeed by providing shelter, food, and especially love to our young ones. Some of us take it for granted that we can hug and kiss our children, and indeed, they deserve to have a home with loving parents.

As it turns out, there are some children that do not have a loving home. Children are abused, neglected, unloved. For many different reasons, their parents cannot provide them with the necessities of life.

Children's Aid Society's (CAS) and Child and Family services are in place to help children who are in situations like this. These non-profit agencies are responsible for the safety and protection of all children.

Their first priority is to keep the family unit together and strong, by providing adequate support. Unfortunately in some cases, this is not always possible.

The CAS and Child and Family Services are responsible for finding families that can temporarily take children into their loving family.

Foster parents are able to provide a supportive and stable home that will encourage the growth and development of a child. Foster parents are adults who understand how to parent. They are caring individuals who are sensitive to the needs of children. Foster Parents are always needed.

If you are interested in becoming a Foster Parent, you will be sent a Foster Parent application package, by your local CAS or Child and Family Services, which fully explains the process of being selected. All members of your household family will be interviewed, including any friends or family who come into the house to provide relief to the parents, such as grandparents or family friends. The staff of CAS or Child and Family Services wants to see the chemistry of the family, to best match your family with the children you would look after.

All members of the family aged 18 or older are also required to participate in a police record check. Here the members of the CAS or Child and Family Services are able to see if there is any previous record of drug or alcohol abuse or child abuse. The idea of a Foster Family is to take a child from a home with potential abuse and place them into a safe and loving home.

After the interview process is finished, the staff of the agency you are working with will tour your home to make sure that it is safe and that the basic necessities are going be provided to the child.

After speaking with members of Child and Family Services and CAS, it is important to note that upon becoming a Foster parent, you must work hard and cooperatively with the staff of these agencies to ensure that everything runs smoothly.

An immediate need for Foster Families exists within Dufferin-Peel-Wellington-Grey. Dufferin Child and Family Services have approximately 98 children in care, and are in need of more foster families. Grey-Owen Sound Children's Aid Services are looking to recruit about 50 foster families within the next year, as well as Guelph-Wellington Family and Children Services. Peel Children's Aid is in great need of foster families within the Caledon and Bolton area, only having around four families to help those in need in these areas.

If you would like to become a Foster Parent, please contact your local CAS or Child and Family Services office. For the local office near you, please visit www.davidtilson.ca or call 1-800-265-1603.

The writer is is a member of the Conservative party. He represents Dufferin, Peel, Wellington, Grey.

Note: Entered with typos exactly as published.

Youth Summit

August 22, 2001 permalink

Youth Summit was held at Monora Park Pavilion, August 21 and 22. There were about 40 participants, less than a half dozen of them men. Comparing it to Children's Aid meetings in the same venue, the dress suggested much lower pay grades. The early sessions were brainstorming, the later sessions dealt with the real business, how to get funding, mostly from government agencies. The attitude of the participants suggests that intact families can get no support from anyone in the social service business, though occasionally some of the more desperate CAS clients may get some help other than family preservation. Here are the sponsoring organizations:

  • Big Brothers & Big Sisters of Dufferin & District
  • Canadian Mental Health Association
  • Community First Family Resource Centres of Dufferin
  • Community Youth Services
  • County of Dufferin
  • Dufferin Association For Community Living
  • Dufferin Parent Support Network
  • Dufferin Volunteer Centre
  • Georgian College
  • Headwaters Peer Support
  • Town of Orangeville

CAS workers leak complaint

August 15, 2001 permalink

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The following communication, while anonymous, comes from a dependable source.

Friday, August 10, 2001

To the Minister of Social Services and Mike Harris.

Some of us want to see change. We don't like doing the dirty work of corrupt offices and politicians.

We are a group of insiders, forced to work under duress, not able to say and do the things that are fair and protect children who are truly at risk.

Though we pose as professionals who are supposed to help families and protect children, we are now criminals. Not because we want to, but because for too long, apathy has caused workers to not question the ethics of the very people who have the power of life and death over children's and family lives. We who work quietly within to try to make honesty out of our fellow workers, supervisors and politicians. All but the very dysfunctional families can be saved and helped.

Some of us became alarmed when we read the court papers in the case of a wrongfully accused priest many years ago. For years, he was the pet project of a vengeful, out of control worker. The lawsuit he won against the Durham Children's Aid Society was a tremendous moral victory, but why was the worker, who was found in court to have maliciously lied and falsified critical documents, not ever arrested? Why did she simply relocate to another Children's Aid region. We demand that the premier and his ministers immediately make public, the judge's words of condemnation to the worker, and then please explain why she was never arrested. Any other citizen would have been.

There are those of us in the field that are sick at heart to be remotely involved with criminal liars. It makes all workers look bad. But through the dedication of groups of people who know the truth, both inside the Children's Aid Society, and advocacy group members, this problem has remained in the public consciousness. In some cases, it has made no difference.

Two Leamington children, drowned by their insane father, would be alive today. But they are not. The Children's Aid Society had many reports and concerns raised by citizens, for almost a year. The police were even called out on an assault charge, but the children were ignored -- ignored to death. Our fellow agency told the press that the CAS had done all the right things, but that is untrue.

Some of us have left this branch of social work, to try and fix things by helping grassroots organizations help expose the unbelievable evil. There are others of use who remain behind the scenes, but our hands are tied. There have been many workers who have spoken out, or tried to do the right thing in the most corrupt of settings. Being held responsible for criminal and negligent actions, is the only way to stop children from dying, and families being unnecessarily torn apart.

This is the first of a planned schedule of dropping information, and publicity that would put some of our co-workers in jail and ensure that they never work with children and families again.

The public perception is that all CAS workers lie in court and falsify sworn testimony. At our professional peril, we have gotten the right things done in most cases we have dealt with, but children are still dying and innocent families are forced into years of harassment by an agency that has no policing and answer to no one.

If this is a revolution -- then let it begin now. Information of how children die in Canada, and how parents have become crazy from trying to please an agency that is never ever going to be pleased. We are given an agenda in social work, and the time is coming when that multifaceted and horrible agenda will be made public.

We recommend that court records be examined. They will find vendettas, powered by the personal anger they suffer from, to ensure a victory for the agency, you will find perjury on the stand, falsified documents, secret filing systems and much worse. Children in this country are merely a commodity, a make work and money game, where the best interests of children are rarely observed.

Chief Julian Fantino is a hero to honest people everywhere. He could have stuck his head in the sand and continued to allow corruption within the police force. He demanded, and got a police force that was held accountable. We are doing no less here.

The lies and the pain have stop. Therefore, as time goes on, more and more critical and embarrassing stories will be leaked to people we trust. And we won't stop until Premier Harris appoints an independent review committee to look at records about how we are forced to operate under a shroud of lies and CAS must win at any cost, even the cost of truth and lives.

It is time to clean house. Crimes of murder by CAS will come to light. Then and only then, will we be able to do our jobs. The found records are only the beginning, and we continue to seek out more honest Children's Aid workers, filter the information to the public. This is just the beginning.

The following article from the Toronto Star of Friday, August 10, 2001, places the foregoing disclosure in context:

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Secret CAS papers strewn along street

Documents about sex assault, fired foster parent

By Phinjo Gombu, Staff reporter

Confidential documents involving the Catholic Children's Aid Society of Toronto, former wards and foster parents were found littered on a quiet Etobicoke street yesterday by a man walking his dog.

The documents, from the minutes of a confidential meeting of the board of directors of the Catholic Children's Aid Society last October, include a request from a lawyer for psychiatric reports of a man who was allegedly sexually assaulted while being a ward of the society.

The man is named in the letter and attached is a handwritten letter by the man allowing the society to release his information to the lawyer.

The alleged assault took place while the man was a resident of a group home in rural Ontario, though the incident didn't take place at the group home.

The documents also include correspondence between the society and a woman who had been terminated from a position as a foster parent.

A letter from Mary A. McConville, the society's executive director, to the former foster parent -- who is also named -- requests her to sign a final form which releases the society from any liability for terminating her position.

"We are very distressed it was found on the street because it is absolutely confidential and private", said Caroline Di Giovanni, a spokesperson for the society after The Star handed her the documents.

"We will certainly be advising members of the board that confidential documents have to be treated very carefully".

But Di Giovanni refused to say whether the society would make any attempt to find out who was responsible for what she insisted was an "inadvertent" and accidental breach of privacy.

Di Giovanni said nobody in the organization could recognize the handwritten notes all over the front page of the confidential minutes of the board meeting.

"We have to act like detectives because we are going on very few clues", she said.

The man who found the documents on a quiet street in the Highway 427 and Burnhamthorpe Rd. area said he did not wish to be identified because there was a possibility the documents may have belonged to one of his neighbours.

"This is like having your medical records floating around", he said. "My feeling is that paperwork like this should be shredded, not put into recycling or garbage".

"If something says private it should be kept private and correspondence between a lawyer and Catholic Children's Aid Society should be also be kept very, very confidential", he said.

David Helson, the lawyer for the man who filed a civil lawsuit and criminal injuries compensation claim involving the alleged sexual assault, expressed concern confidential information naming his client was found lying on a street.

"There's not much I can say because I don't know any of the circumstances", Helson said, adding he would call his client about the disclosure.

Also attached are confidential minutes of a board meeting held last October which includes a report on the then-upcoming inquest into the death of baby Jordan Heikamp, who died of starvation. After a lengthy coroner's inquest, some practices of the society were severely criticized.

The report states that the policies and procedures of the Catholic Children's Aid Society were carried out by the worker assigned to Jordan and his 19-year-old mother Renee Heikamp.

There is a photograph of documents lying on the ground over the caption:

SENSITIVE INFORMATION: A man found these papers from a Catholic Children's Aid Society board meeting on a street near Burnamthorpe Rd. and Highway 427.

Note: Handing the papers to the Toronto Star wasted the opportunity. Dufferin VOCA has a far better record of disclosing documents to the maximum extent permitted by law.

Aylmer Parents Join CAS

August 1, 2001 permalink

Today the London Free Press reported that 82 members of the Church of God in Aylmer Ontario have joined their local Children's Aid Society as members. In another action similar to Dufferin, the church leader, Rev Henry Hildebrandt, has been charged with a crime for disclosing the identities of the abducted children. This article was withdrawn from the web in record time.

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London Free Press, London Ontario, Wednesday, August 1, 2001

Church blitzes CAS

Mass sign-up targets society board, pastor vows to fight charge

By STEPHANIE CESCA, Free Press Reporter

ST. THOMAS -- 

Church of God members swarmed the St. Thomas-Elgin Children's Aid Society yesterday and signed up to become members and influence the agency that took away seven of their children a month ago.

Meanwhile, the pastor of the church declared his innocence after being charged with identifying a child involved in a court proceeding -- a provincial offence -- after the identities of the seven children were revealed on a Web site.

Eighty-two church members signed up with the CAS, outnumbering current society members by 25, in a bid to voice their support for corporal punishment.

"Whatever it takes, whatever it takes," said Rev. Henry Hildebrandt, the church's pastor. "I hope to influence this agency and for it to become more balanced."

The church, which believes in spanking children with sticks and straps, says it's time to play a more active role in the CAS and hopes to sit on the board of directors, which is elected each June.

But the CAS says the church's membership will have a limited impact if it wants to make change.

"They can't change anything that's already here," said board member Janet Hagerty. "Things are mandated down and that's how social workers work. Everyone follows the same mandate, the same set of risk-assessment tools."

All Ontario Children's Aid agencies follow regulations set by the province's Child and Family Services Act.

But CAS members can vote on who sits on the board of directors, which approves budgets and sets other, more minor, policies.

"It's time to find out who is who and what is what and find out how we get involved because obviously we weren't represented and it seems like there's a real need for our diversity here in the agencies," Hildebrandt said.

Marijke den Bak, the society's acting director, welcomed the new members.

"We're not concerned about them wanting to become members, no," she said.

But she also said the Church of God will not influence the society's position on corporal punishment.

The seven children who were taken from their parents are back home, pending a court hearing Sept. 6.

Hildebrandt faces his own trial Aug. 9 after being charged under the Child and Family Services Act with identifying a child.

Pictures of the seven children were published on a Web site dedicated to the case.

"I don't know who posted them, I don't know who provided them, I did not have the pictures," Hildebrandt said. "I did not supply any information or whatever. I didn't create (the site). I was not involved in it."

On conviction, the charges carry a maximum fine of $10,000 or three years in jail.

Aylmer police say no one else will be charged because the operator of the site lives in another province.

The law firm representing the seven children's parents say the charge against Hildebrandt isn't expected to interfere with the children's case.

Source: London Free Press

CAS Abducts Aylmer Children

July 20, 2001 permalink

Another Children's Aid Society in Ontario has taken the children of several families into foster-care in a highly publicized case. The victims have established an Aylmer website at http://www.childrentaken.com.

Addendum: The website was removed following the settlement of the child protection case.

CAS Annual Meeting

June 19, 2001 permalink

CAS held its annual meeting this evening. As expected, their candidates were elected to the board of directors. Dufferin VOCA requested a poll, and in that poll, the recorded vote was:

candidate yes no
Greg Maslen 62 20
Dawn Martin 62 20
Lea McGillivray 62 20
Erica Black 63 19

Accompanying the annual report, CAS handed out a copy of the Orangeville Banner Editorial of June 8, 2001, and a reply by Gary Putman. The Orangeville Banner printed the reply in the June 19, 2001 edition under the headline: Editorial Comments express dated values regarding abuse

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DCAFS logo

DUFFERIN
Child and Family Services
(Incorporated as the Children's Aid Society of the County of Dufferin)

June 13, 2001

The Editor
Orangeville Banner
37 Mill Street
Orangeville, ON

Dear Editor:

We are writing regarding the Editorial Comment which appeared in your June 8th edition entitled "A tough balance". Thank you for your article on our urgent need for foster parents and we are pleased that forty eight families have responded to date.

This letter however is to respond to additional comments made in your editorial which we are very puzzled and disturbed over. Although we were left to believe that your inquiries to our staff were in respect to our need for foster homes, we are left wondering why you chose to spend the better part of your editorial criticizing the mandate of children's aid societies. My immediate response is to elaborate on all your ill informed comments, but I know I must be short. We are puzzled by the choice of such negative words as "horror stories", "police escorted agents", "without sufficient evidence of need", "unnecessary meddling", "interference in private lives", and "bulldoze". We are puzzled because these words remind us of opinions held many years ago when family life was so secret and private, it was no ones business if parents abused children or partners physically assaulted their spouse or girlfriend. So private that police were not to intervene or lay criminal charges because these matters were naturally private and were to be sorted out by family members. So private that children and women died at the hands of their parents or partners. We thought we had moved beyond that to understand that intervention into family lives and between adult partners was seen as in everyone's best interest. That children should be protected and women respected and treated as equals rather than treated as a possession to do with whatever one wants to in private.. We thought the saying "it takes a village to raise a child" was an acceptable society value today and that children deserved a formal advocate to intervene when there is an indication that they may be subject to abuse or neglect. We agree that less intervention would be required if parents always acted with their children's best interest. We would not need women's shelters if all women and children were treated with respect and love. We would not need jails if everyone obeyed the laws of our society. It truly is a very delicate balance but there are not always simple solutions to what are very complex human interactions.

Next time, please try to inform yourself of all sides of an issue before expressing your opinion.

Sincerely,

Gary Putman
Executive Director.

Child Protection Service and Developmental Support Service
50 Fourth Ave., Unit 13,
Orangeville, Ontario, L9W 4P1
Phone (519) 941-1530 Fax 519-941-1525 mail@dcafs.on.ca


Banner Raps CAS

June 8, 2001 permalink

In an editorial today the Orangeville Banner has criticized the Children's Aid Society. The criticism is the mildest possible, but it is a first step:

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OPINION

A tough balance

An article in Tuesday's Banner observed that there is an "urgent need" for foster parents. It seems that recent revisions of the Child and Family Services Act have expanded the ability of the Children's Aid Society to intervene on children's behalf, newly including "neglect and witnessing parental violence". Between this and the increase in population here in Dufferin, the number of children in need of care in recent years has increased greatly.

These seem broad spectrums, but our sources at the Society assured us that there are very specific outlines and conditions which must apply before children will be taken from their homes.

Still, we have all heard horror stories of children being swept away from their homes by police-escorted society agents, without what would be considered by most of us sufficient evidence of need.

It is a fine line between unnecessary meddling and real intervention for good. There are always borderline cases where inaction is out of the question but action will lead to mistakes. The problem is the fact of government based interference in private lives. Where does a government's responsibility for our behaviour begin and where does it end? The more governments legislate about our private lives: our domestic affairs, our personal relationships, our parenting, the less we ourselves are responsible for those aspects of our own lives.

Will our children be better off as a result of official interference in their lives? Would as many children as are now in custody really be safer, happier, better balanced adults for being taken away from their parents? If parents can make mistakes in their parenting, surely many mistakes are also made by agents who are placed in a position to judge those parents and effectively bulldoze the their lives and those of their children.

It is a very delicate balance. If there are stringent checks and balances, not only into the cases in hand but also the very people investigating them, well and good. But it would be far better if, as a society, we educated ourselves to care properly and well for our own children, so as not, generally, to need the supervision of government agencies.

CAS Calls Meeting

June 8, 2001 permalink

Children's Aid has sent out its notice of meeting to the membership. Dufferin VOCA has asked its members to attend personally if possible, and by proxy otherwise. Here are directions. This is a public meeting, and non-members may attend peaceably as well, to support the families of Dufferin. Here is their announcement:

Notice to All Members

DCAFS logo

Annual Meeting

Dufferin Child and Family Services

(Incorporated as The Children's Aid Society of the County of Dufferin)

Tuesday, June 19, 2001
7:00 p.m.

Monora Park Pavilion - Banquet Room

Agenda:

Minutes of the Previous Annual Meeting
Approval of the 2000/2001 Audited Financial Statements
Appointment of Auditors for 2001/2002
Election of Directors
New Business

Baird responds

May 25, 2001 permalink

John Baird has responded to our objections to the new bylaws. He will look for conflicts with legislation. Perhaps he will also consider common sense - What is the point of an election where candidates cannot run and members cannot vote? Here is his letter:

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Ministry of Community and Social Services Office of the Minister Hepburn Block Queens Park Toronto ON M7A 1E9 (416)325-5226
Ministère des Services sociaux et communautaires Bureau du Ministre Édifice Hepburn Queens Park Toronto ON M7A 1E9 (416)325-5226
Ontario coat of arms

May 16, 2001

Mr Robert T McQuaid
RR 5
Orangeville, Ontario
L9W 2Z2

Dear Mr McQuaid:

Thank you for your letter of March 8, 2001 concerning the proposed changes to the bylaws of the Children's Aid Society of the County of Dufferin. Please excuse the delay in my response.

The decision to approve a children's aid society bylaw or an amendment to a bylaw involves a review to determine whether any of the provisions directly contravene the Child and Family Services Act or the Corporations Act.

A copy of your correspondence has been forwarded to Ms. Jessica Hill, Assistant Deputy Minister of our ministry's Program management Division, who has the authority to approve a children's aid society's bylaw or an amendment to a bylaw.

Once again, thank you for writing.

Sincerely,

/signed/

John Baird, MPP
Minister

c: Ms Jessica Hill

CAS Slate of Directors

May 15, 2001 permalink

The annual meeting of Children's Aid is scheduled for June 19, 2001. The nominating committee has recommended Erica Black, Dawn Martin, Greg Maslen and Lea McGillivray for election as directors. All persons who were members as of May 1, 2001 will be eligible to vote at the meeting.

Shotgun divorce comes to Dufferin

May 1, 2001 permalink

In a case just like the Howard shotgun divorce in Massachusetts, Children's Aid has forced a loving couple with three children in Dufferin to separate. The story posted here April 29 caused commotion showing that CAS monitors this news daily. It has been withdrawn pending further research.

McQuaid arrested

April 23, 2001 permalink

Today four plainclothes police officers approached the home of Robert T McQuaid. They handcuffed him and announced that he was under arrest for violation of the immigration act. McQuaid's wife retrieved his Certificate of Canadian Citizenship. The officers released McQuaid and left with a photocopy of the certificate. They received a tip about the immigration problems, but refused to reveal the source of the tip.

Addendum. Documents obtained after four months of foot-dragging from the Toronto Police under the Freedom of Information Act do not support the connection of this erroneous arrest to Dufferin Children's Aid.

CAS ashamed of itself

April 21, 2001 permalink

John and Jane Doe formerly had a complete transcript of their child protection case posted on the internet with their own cooperation. Dufferin VOCA had a link to it.

Section S.45(8) of the Child and Family Services Act says: No person shall publish or make public information that has the effect of identifying a child who is a witness at or a participant in a hearing or the subject of a proceeding, or the child's parent or foster parent or a member of the child's family.

On April 10, 2001 CAS moved to find the Does in contempt, attaching much of the Dufferin VOCA website as exhibits. CAS lawyer David Thwaites agreed to postpone the contempt motion long enough for preparation of a defense, but on the scheduled motion date, April 18, he insisted on proceeding anyway. Dufferin VOCA intervened on less than an hour's notice. Mr Thwaites was determined to bring a quaisi-criminal action against the Does, even without evidence that they created the internet site. We were ready to assert the right of free speech, but not willing to risk jail for the Does. On April 20, the Doe transcript was removed from the internet.

CAS fears exposure of their own court statements, resorting to twisting a law guarding family privacy into a club against free speech. Dufferin VOCA will continue to expose the actions of Children's Aid.

Judge John B Allen RIP

April 12, 2001 permalink

Judge John B Allen passed away on April 4, 2001. Community leaders gave tribute at a memorial service on April 11. Parties to legal actions tried by him also have expressed favorable opinions. Dufferin VOCA joins in honoring the memory of Judge Allen.

Heikamp recommendations

April 12, 2001 permalink

Dufferin VOCA has copied the report of the jury recommendations in the Heikamp case from the website of the CBC.

There is no suggestion to abolish the shelter's board of directors. As we feared, all of the recommendations are for more power for Children's Aid, and in eight cases, more funding. They suggest giving social workers the power to examine records without even the consents now extorted from parents.

Directors attacked

April 5, 2001 permalink

Jordan Heikamp was born May 18, 1997 to a teenage mother. On his discharge from the hospital on May 29, Catholic Children's Aid took him into their custody and placed him in a shelter. On June 23, 1997 he died of starvation.

If you kill a child, will you get more money? Children's Aid likely will. A recent plea to the inquest jury advocated abolishing the shelter's board of directors, so management reports directly to the ministry. The same move with Children's Aid itself will require Dufferin VOCA to change its direction.

New bylaws adopted

March 20, 2001 permalink

At the membership meeting this evening, Children's Aid passed the motion to adopt the new bylaws by a vote of 51 to 10. Dufferin VOCA had ten members present in person or by proxy, so it appears that no one switched sides.

CAS hides membership

March 17, 2001 permalink

Under the Corporations Act, corporations are required to provide a membership list to members who pledge to use them only for the purposes mentioned in the Act. Dufferin VOCA has in the past relied on the Dufferin CAS membership list to get its message to all of the members. In a place where the media refuse to accept our advertising, it is the only way. The following memo on Dufferin CAS letterhead accompanied the membership renewal forms postmarked March 14, 2001. Influencing the votes of members is a legitimate use of a membership list, a use that requires communication. CAS is endeavoring to thwart the Act by keeping the true addresses secret.

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MEMO

Date: March 5, 2001

To: All Members of the Children's Aid Society of the County of Dufferin

From: Irene Beazley, Senior Administrative Assistant, on behalf of the Secretary Treasurer of the Board of Directors of the Children's Aid Society of the county of Dufferin

RE: Membership Address and Communication Address

The membership renewal form enclosed provides members with the choice of providing a membership address and/or communication address. The membership address is public information and will be available to anyone who requests a list of our members' names and addresses. The communication address may be completed if you have a separate address to be used for communication purposes only. This address will not be made public.

If you provide only one address it will be treated as being used for both membership and communication addresses.

/ib
Encl

(end of memo)

CAS rules out opposition

March 8, 2001 permalink



The Honourable John Baird
Minister of Community and Social Services
900 Bay Street MacDonald Block
Toronto Ontario M7A 1N3

Dear Mr Baird:

This concerns a proposed amendment to the bylaws of the
Dufferin Children's Aid Society.

Children's Aid Societies have the power to remove
children from their parents. This power may be used, as
envisioned in the law, to protect children, or may be
harm children by depriving them of good parents. A
vital protection ensuring beneficial use of these powers
is that Children's Aid Societies are subject to
community control. Any member of the community may join
for a nominal fee and vote for the board of directors,
and consequently for the management.

The Dufferin Children's Aid Society has recently
proposed a set of amendments to its bylaws that would
effectively eliminate community participation. A new
bylaw No 5 to be reviewed at a membership meeting on
March 20, 2001 will make the following changes:

1. Only the nominating committee (composed of
incumbents) will be able to nominate candidates for
director. Previously, any two members could make
such a nomination.

2. Anyone related by blood, marriage or adoption to a
person involved in any child-protection case or
investigation will be disqualified from the board of
directors, even if already in office.

3. The annual membership, previously fixed at three
dollars a year, is now at the discretion of the
board.

4. No member will be allowed to hold more than two
proxies.

The first provision above makes it impossible for
members of the community in opposition to Children's Aid
policies to participate in an effort to get those
policies changed. Is there any other kind of election
where candidates must have the approval of the
incumbents?

As for the second provision, the number of Children's
Aid cases in Dufferin is quite large, 1353 last year.
If most cases affect an extended family, it is possible
that a substantial proportion of the parents in Dufferin
could be disqualified by this provision - Dufferin only
has 45,655 people. Even worse, since it applies to
those already sitting on the board, management can
disqualify a board member at will simply by starting an
investigation of a member of his extended family. The
law envisions that the directors control the management,
not the other way around.

All residents of Dufferin can afford the three dollars a
year membership. The third provision to raise it at
will may allow the board to limit participation by
placing membership beyond the means of many residents.

The fourth provision, limiting proxies, will deprive a
large number of members of the ability to vote through
their chosen proxy-holder. Some cannot attend for lack
of means, others cannot attend simultaneously because of
legal restrictions imposed on them by Children's Aid
court actions.

Dufferin Children's Aid now has an active opposition, of
which I have been a part, and it appears that management
is using its powers to protect itself from community
influence. The Child and Family Services Act provides
that no bylaw shall come into effect until approved by
the Minister of Community and Social Services. For the
reasons stated above, I urge you to use your powers to
decline these bylaws when they reach your office for
approval.

Yours truly,



Robert T McQuaid
RR 5
Orangeville Ontario L9W 2Z2
phone: 519-942-0565
519-940-9847
email: rtmq@stn.net


Copies:
David Tilson, Member of Provincial Parliament Dufferin
Dalton McGuinty
Howard Hampton
Mark Van Horne, President of Dufferin Children's Aid
Orangeville Banner

(end of letter)

Addendum: In a discussion of this letter, the editor of the Orangeville Banner said that he can only publish letters on Children's Aid after getting the approval of Gary Putman.

Here is the undated notice of meeting mailed in the first week of March, 2001 :

DUFFERIN Child and Family Services Incorporated as the Children's Aid Society of the County of Dufferin

NOTICE

ALL MEMBERS OF THE CHILDREN'S AID SOCIETY OF THE COUNTY OF DUFFERIN

There will be a special meeting of the membership to review Revised By-Law No 5: a by-law relating generally to the conduct of the affairs of The Children's Aid Society of the County of Dufferin

Date: Tuesday, March 20, 2001
Time: 7:00 pm
Location: Monora Park Pavilion

Note:

A copy of the revised By-Law No 5 is enclosed for your review. We hope that members will attend this meeting, however if this is not possible and you wish to vote please complete the proxy vote form enclosed and follow the instructions as shown. Those eligible to vote must have obtained membership by the record date, February 1, 2001.

If you have any questions regarding this meeting please contact Irene Beazley at 519-941-1530, ext 225.

(end of notice)

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