DAY 1 and beyond The Children's Aid Society Issues

Demand the Ombudsman Investigate the MUSH Sector!

2012-01-29T11:22:00.000-08:00

Demand the Ombudsman Investigate the MUSH Sector!

DAY 2483

2012-01-11T16:39:00.000-08:00

January 11, 2012

It has been 11 days into the NewYear. I am enjoying the spring likeweather in January.

I am attendingfamily court just 2 times this month and I have a few clients visiting thisweek.

I am glad to report that after a prolongedFamily court battle since March 5, 2011 with the Hamilton Children’s AidSociety and Graham, and his son Devon Sweeney; Devon is finally coming home tobe with his caregiver Paula. I can’tbelieve he is 15 years old already. He will be home at the end of this monthand out of the foster care/group home setting of Hamilton CAS.

There were 3 birthdays on January10, 2012.

My friend Dianne turned 20 yearsold.

My step-daughter Jackie Allen turned 44 yearsold as well (Ed’s youngest daughter from his 1^st marriage).

And finally Vinny Allen my stepson is 18. The last time I saw him athome was March 24, 2005. He was 11 yearsold. When you turn 18 you can legallyvote in Canada, Ontario and in your municipality. You are old enough to drive but not oldenough to drink in a bar. You cannot buycigarettes either. Vinny’s mother MarionRIP would have been very proud of her little boy that has grown into such atall young man. There is not a day thatgoes by that Dad doesn’t stop thinking about you. Vinny is in my thoughts every day.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUALL AND MANY MORE

December 31, 2011 DAY 2472

2011-12-31T17:42:00.000-08:00

I have been missing in action in my blog since October 4, 2011.

A lot has happened but I won’t ramble on about that too much.

I have been involved in advocacy and family court work continuously for the past three months with various clients in the communities of Hamilton, Windsor and Brampton.

I am not a lawyer I can only give advice and referrals to offer people alternatives and self help information.

Well there is only 3 hours left of the year 2011.

It was a quiet Christmas. I thought of Vinny and Paige today and wondered how their Christmas went.

I had a Christmas party on December 23, 2011 my second annual one. I invited Sandra, Joe and her two youngest children.

I invited Jackie, Eds daughter and granddaughter Jaiden and there was Ed, Peter and I there as well. In total we had 10 people hanging out from 7 until 10pm. We exchanged gifts and had great food and fellowship.

I am up early today as the cable guy came by to hook up the internet. That is such a relief.

We got a snow storm in the last two days. I fell on the ice yesterday and hurt my left knee. I am going to take it easy today and weekend and not walk too much.

I got some UGG boots; a two hundred dollar gift card for Fairweather’s clothing store from Ed, a pair of pajamas, a stuffed bear and two boxes of chocolate. I got three poinsettias and a silver tower tree and a chocolate cake from Jackie too.

I will be spending time at home this New Years Eve like I always do. There will be just Peter, Ed and I.

I don’t want to make another New Year’s resolution but I will anyways.

I will quit smoking,
I will go bankrupt,
I will get a driver’s license
I will have a career or start a career in law by going back to school in September.

I still want to get pregnant. We will see how the cards hold out for that this year.

We are here to protect children and families from the Children's Aid Society.
Thank you for your support!!

Mass graves of children opened in Canada

2011-10-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

Dig for Children’s Remains Begins at Canada’s Oldest Residential School
Sovereign Mohawk Nation commences groundbreaking investigation of mass murder by Church and State

BRANTFORD, ONTARIO – Elders of the Mohawk Nation in collaboration with the International Tribunal into Crimes of Church and State (ITCCS) and its Secretary, Kevin Annett, announced today the commencement of forensic excavations on the grounds of the oldest Indian residential school in Canada - the Mohawk Institute run by the Church of England.

Frustrated by the ongoing whitewash by the Canadian government of the murder of residential school children by Catholic and Protestant churches, the Sovereign Mohawk nation of Grand River has begun digging for children’s remains to “finally give them a proper burial and bring to trial those who killed them”, to quote Mohawk elder Bill Squire.

Squire and eight other Mohawk elders have granted authorization to Kevin Annett and the ITCCS to conduct Ground Penetrating Radar surveys and excavations at the Brantford residential school in order to bring the evidence obtained to International tribunals and human rights courts.

Initial evidence obtained at these digs today confirmed eyewitness accounts of the deaths and burial of children at the Brantford school, as well as the cover up of their remains.

The Mohawk elders and the ITCCS are issuing a call to other indigenous nations to commence similar excavations at former Indian residential schools across Canada, rather than rely on the Canadian government and its churches for justice or disclosure.

Further updates will be released as the excavations continue.

For information contact the ITCCS and Kevin Annett at hiddenfromhistory1@gmail.com and http://www.itccs.org.

2011-10-02T16:20:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzEoyGTIHco

Come join us at the SKYDRAGON CENTER 27 King William St.

On October 4, 2011 at 7pm to listen to Kevin Annett Speak about his book

FOR MORE INFORMATION and directions PLEASE CONTACT MARY (905) 679 6764 OR VIA EMAIL AT nationalacademy2005@yahoo.ca (seating is limited)

"Unrepentant: Disrobing the Emperor" by Kevin Annett (O Books, 2011)

More information and free download at

http://hiddennolonger.com

HIDDEN FROM HISTORY

2011-09-29T23:38:00.000-07:00

This should help in Kevin Annett's cause to bring justice to The Genocide in Canada today regarding the 50 000 Native children missing in Canada, due to the residential school system.

HIDDEN NO LONGER

2011-09-28T19:23:00.001-07:00

On October 4, 2011 at 7pm
Address: 27 King William Street Hamilton, ON

Kevin Annett from http://hiddenfromhistory.org/ will be attending the SKYDRAGON Center to promote his new book

"Unrepentant: Disrobing the Emperor" by Kevin Annett (O Books, 2011)

More information and free download of this book at

http://hiddennolonger.com

FOR MORE INFORMATION and directions

PLEASE CONTACT MARY at (905) 679 6764 OR VIA EMAIL AT nationalacademy2005@yahoo.ca

(seating is limited)

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"On March 26, 2011 Standing in front of the Parliament buildings in Ottawa, Kevin Annett of The International Tribunal into Crimes of Church and State (ITCCS) read from the Summons that charged Harper with concealing genocide against native children in Canada’s Indian residential schools, denying justice to survivors and protecting the churches responsible for the deaths of 50,000 native children. Annett then formally delivered the Summons to the Prime Minister’s Office. Harper had thirty days to respond to the Summons, after which his silence can be deemed to imply his consent to the charges made against him. A similar Summons was delivered to Pope Benedict at the Vatican last month."

www.itccs.org (Tribunal website)

I will be sending out a further press release and informational brochure. It would be great for there to be standing room only for this event.

Meet Kevin Annett in person and hear the real story of the Residential School History and Genocide in Canada.

September 14 2011 DAY 2364

2011-09-14T19:07:00.000-07:00

I had a birthday on September 10, 2011, I turned 43 years old. I had a nice dinner with friends and family at Tony Roma’s in the east end of Hamilton.

There are a lot of activities happening for the month of September. I will try and not to forget something.

1. Tomorrow is the premier of POWERFUL AS GOD.

Powerful as God reveals how the agency has wielded legislation, intended to protect vulnerable lives, as a weapon to tear communities apart and deflect from social and financial accountability with a public that enables it. This documentary also uncovers an urgent systemic matter, critically affecting the lives of thousands of children and families from every income, cultural and religious community in the province.

As an academic research work produced in the Documentary Media (MFA) program at Ryerson University, it incorporates thirteen experts (family lawyers from both sides, doctors, social workers, elected politicians) and thirteen witnesses (foster parents, group-home worker, natural parents, adopter, former foster children, etc.) from across Ontario.

The director and witnesses will be in attendance to receive questions after the film. The film will be available for free to the public, through the website, www.blakout.ca on September 17, 2011.

Closed Screening Details:

Film: Powerful as God - The Children's Aid Societies of Ontario
Director: Esther Buckareff
Time: 75 min.
Date: Thursday, September 15, 2011, 7pm (doors open at 6:30pm)
Location: Royal Cinema , 608 College St. West, Toronto, Ontario

This is a closed screening to media and CAS victims (references required)by invitation only.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBlBkMgwglk

2. On September 15, 2011 from 6:30pm to 9:30pm TAKE BACK THE NIGHT rally and event will be happening at City Hall 71 Main Street West, (next to the Family Court).
http://takebackthenighthamilton.wordpress.com/

3. On September 22, 2011 in Central Park from 5:30pm to 8:30pm there will be a Peoples Gala protest and rally in response to the police GALA event to be held on the same night at LIUNA station. You can see the facebook event here.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=157995554286542

4. We are organizing for the October 24, 2011 GRAPE EXPECTATIONS EVENT to be held at Carmen’s Banquet Center. Stay tuned for more details on this event. It would be great to have a showing at both the Family Court house and at Carmen’s this year. It will be our 7th year in a row rallying against Children’s Aid Society in Hamilton. Due to weather and lack of interest we didn’t do it last year.

http://www.grapeexpectationsgala.com/

I continue to do advocacy on a daily and weekly basis and network with people around the country dealing with issues related to Children’s Aid Society and poverty

August 20, 2011 DAY 2339

2011-08-20T13:04:00.000-07:00

Well it has been almost a month since I have posted in my diary and blog.

I have been watching the protest rallies across this province for accountability in CAS. I am honored to say that I am friends online and in person with so many dedicated individuals fighting for justice for families.

I can’t believe the summer is almost over.

I have had a few barbeques and spend many of my days dealing with clients in downtown Hamilton. I follow the news daily for stories and deal with poverty and its issues on a daily basis through referrals and client advocacy.

Everyone has days in their lives that they can say are the most memorable dates of their lives whether they are good or bad. I now have 4 events in my life that are memorable.

• On November 12, 1986 my first born Candice was born at 1:08pm at 21 ½ inches long with long black hair and not a peep of crying just laid there staring at the world was my first memorable date.

• The second date was on November 7, 1993 was when I first got together with Ed, my man; now after 17 years we are going on 18 years together, not yet married, friendship, lovers, pals, people that speak on the same level, love and romance, with lots of trials and tribulations along the way; with 9 children, 12 grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

• The third date is a date that is the reason why I write in this blog and diary. It was March 24, 2005. I have been writing every day since. It is the day that Vinny and Paige, my step son and granddaughter left my home, our family ripped apart by the Hamilton Children’s Aid Society and they were never returned. It has been 2 335 days since they have been home or even came to visit me and Ed. That is a very long time. I have written 45 poems from the heart, went to countless court cases and a mini trial. I attended almost 30 supervised visits with the CAS watching our every move and all the time they knew the children were never coming home. We had hope, we had our family, and we had each other me and Ed. After this date is why we started fighting for the rights and the protection of families everywhere in Hamilton, Ontario and Canada against the Children’s Aid Societies of this country.

• The last date that was memorable will be August 6, 2011. I will remember that date for one specific reason. Remembering the girls growing up with New Kids on the Block and the Backstreet Boys, I had pitched in on a present with 4 of my friends to get a client/friend some tickets to the Hamilton show to see the reunion tour of the NKOTBSB on this date. We got the tickets in February of 2011 and we kept it a secret from her until her birthday until the end of June. I knew all the songs, the XBOX still has the burned CD music on there. My daughter Candice was out west and couldn’t come out for the summer so I figured at some point during the month of July I could win tickets to see the concert. My friend was taking her middle daughter to the concert so that option was out. I spent 2 weeks by the phone, listening for contest songs and cues to call with three cell phones and a house phone on standby. Unfortunately I didn’t win the tickets. The day of the concert was approaching. It was raining and wet on August 6, 2011. I was out shopping for fruit and vegetables and I was singing all day long the NKOTBSB songs were all over the radio. I got a call at 5:30pm from my friend and she said to me “meet me at COPPS Coliseum” as she had found another ticket for me. I was hesitant but went down there in the rain. I was walking towards her and of course not dressed for a concert; just a t-shirt and sweatpants, a baseball cap white and my oversized purse with my cell phone in tow. She was standing there and her middle child wasn’t with her. She had hurt her leg and now I was going to the concert with just my friend. I cried when I entered the coliseum and kept asking my friend to pinch me. It was the best thing anyone has ever done for me as a friend. I was so thankful, I still relive that night every time I hear the songs on the radio. I sang all the songs, got to see the Backstreet Boys on stage, and had the greatest time of my life that night, all the while thinking I wish Candice was here…I gotta tell her on Facebook when I get home. I took lots of pictures, which I shared with her and even got to touch one of the New Kids on the Block member’s hand. That was so cool.

Our group National Academy of Social Advocates and Child Assist Services will be hosting a community garage sale and barbeque for the Labor Day weekend of September 3, 4, and 5th. We are in the process of setting up contacts and to see how many people would like to participate. I will be posting a Face book event and putting advertisements in the local newspaper and on Kijiji.

I figured I would pop in and post and let you know that the summer has been slow but not a day goes by that I don’t think about why I write in this diary and blog.

We are here to protect children and families from the Childrens Aid Society!!
Thank you for your support!!

House of Horrors appeal denied (update)

2011-07-30T09:17:00.000-07:00

http://www.thespec.com/news/local/article/571364--house-of-horror-abusers-reach-for-bible-to-shorten-sentence

July 30, 2011

If they had Jesus in their lives a little sooner, they would never have kept their small children locked in a pitch dark, squalid basement room. A feces smeared room with dangling electrical wires and urine soaked bunk beds.

Now that they are born again, they see that what they did to the brothers — just five and two — was wrong.

And they were praying to get out of jail early. But it was a judge — not Jesus — who had the final word on Friday and his answer was a swift and sharp ‘no.'

The three adults convicted in the stomach-churning child abuse case were appealing their sentence.

A mother, her fiancé and a grandmother were convicted of two counts each of confinement and failing to provide the necessaries of life.

The grandmother was also convicted of assault, for yanking the toddler clear off his feet in front of a police officer. Police stumbled upon the dungeonlike conditions after the youngest boy clawed a hole in the makeshift bedroom wall, wriggled out and managed to dial 911.

Court heard the boys had been kept in the basement of the Stoney Creek house for at least five months by the time they were rescued in April 2009. Upstairs, other children lived in bright and cheerful bedrooms.

The two years less a day handed down by original trial judge, Justice Bernd Zabel, was too harsh, the abusers argued. They are all first-time offenders and the sentence is longer than what the case law points to.

So far, they have served five months of it. They asked to be released now, and be allowed to serve just four more months in the community.

But Justice Dale Parayeski dismissed the appeal and the three — who sat shoulder to shoulder in the prisoner's dock — were hustled back to jail.

They cannot be named because doing so might identify the children.

The boys' mother and grandmother are at the Vanier Institute for Women. Every day, they are allowed out together to clean the range, according to an affidavit from the mother.

Otherwise, the mother says, she is in protective custody.

“People in jail want to hurt me because of what they have read in the newspapers or seen on TV about this case,” she said.

“Since being in 22-hour lock-up, I have come to really understand what my two little boys must have felt when they were locked up in their basement bedroom. I am horrified at what I did, and truly understand that it was wrong.”

She continues: “With the help of my Bible teachers and the Holy Spirit, I have been born again in Jesus Christ. I now have a personal relationship with Jesus and my new found Christian faith has softened my heart to, again, really understand that what I did was wrong ... I know many people might think this is all stuff made up by me to get a lighter sentence, but I know my faith in Jesus is very real; that there truly is a God; that He died for me; and that He loves me!”

When she gets out of jail she hopes to resume her job as a personal support worker in lodging homes and see her children.

“Hopefully, with the Good Lord's help, I will be able to at least see and touch and kiss my babies under some type of supervision.”

Currently, the children have no contact with their abusers.

Her fiancé is also taking Bible courses while at the Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre and filed an affidavit declaring himself a born-again Christian.

“Having been locked up in jail, I've really understood that what I did to (the boys) was very wrong ... Had I had the love of Christ in my heart before this happened, I would have lead a more selfless life. Now that I have become a practicing Christian, I have a new way of thinking. It's beautiful with God in your life.

“I miss my kids very much and eventually (my fiancée) and I plan to get married and have all the children baptized in Christ.”

Court documents include his bible studies homework.

In one exercise, he had to list what is needed “to develop attitudes of love in children.” His answers: “try to understand their feelings”; “listen to what they say”; “tell them they are loved.”

In another, he is asked to tell about an area of injustice he would like to see changed.

His answer: “Mine and my fiancée's incarceration is true injustice. I would like for the judge and crown attorney to re-evaluate the whole case and stop feeling the pressure from the police. There is too much inconsistencies, evidence is poor. I just pray to god the injustice be turned to justice for us. We need it.”

Most telling of all, perhaps, is a question he poses to his Bible instructor: “What is true repentance?”

Susan Clairmont's commentary appears regularly in The Spectator. Sclairmont@thespec.com

905-526-3539

July 24, 2011 DAY 2312 REFLECTIONS

2011-07-24T13:25:00.000-07:00

We finally got some rain last night. I watched it from about midnight till 2am outside. The rain came down fast and hard, lots of lightning and thunder and then poof the rain was gone. We don’t have any more humidity and now I can get on with business and life at the moment.

I don’t have to be back in family court until at least October for a few clients so that will give me a few months to sort out things and organize for the fall season and to set some priorities for my life in the future.

Sometimes things that have happened in your recent past and even present push you towards the future and you have to say to yourself I’m not going to take it anymore and I can do it. I have to continue to have a positive attitude as some people that are negative or have a difference of opinion of you can only keep you in the past of your transgressions and faults. I have learned the hard way by reflecting on family relationships and breakdowns within my own life.

This diary post may not seem to make any sense, but it is subliminal in its message. You just have to think positive, block out the negativity and fight the good fight for all mankind. Will there be world peace? Will there be accountability? There has to be an end to the means of my fighting for justice in this unjust society. I don’t want a pat on the back or a way to go, just the fact that I continue to fight for the rights of others gives me satisfaction.

Someone told me recently you have a right to your opinion, and I can’t change or make you take my opinion for your own. Well after that power of suggestion and discussion a breakdown took place. A friendship was lost today with a lot of disrespect that was intended to be thrown my way. Because I tend to analyze and breakdown situations and problems and choose not to voice an opinion until I get all the facts straight, that was taken out of context as I don’t have the right to reserve my opinion or I just need to embrace my opinion and shout it out.

This is more of an awakening for me, to go forward in my life and continue on to make my life better and easier to take. Sometimes there is the inkling of I can show off and I can prove that I have to do better to gain respect and show them, but then I am defeating the purpose of my message. I have to do this for me and not to show off or to show them that I can succeed.

July 19, 2011 DAY 2307

2011-07-18T21:20:00.001-07:00

We are in the middle of a heat wave and every day I am hoping for rain. I reached another milestone of over 2300 days in my diary. I am still writing in my diary and I am continuing in the fight for justice for families and children in Ontario against the Children’s Aid Society.

I think about Vinny and Paige every day. That is why I write.

Unfortunately I missed a rally against the Children’s Aid Society in Hamilton on Saturday July 16, 2011. It was attended by Canada Court Watch members, Protecting Canadian Children members and people in the Hamilton community.

http://www.therecord.com/news/local/article/564697--protesters-demand-ombud-oversight-of-children-s-aid-societies

I attended the Scugog Island First Nations 15th annual Pow Wow, in Port Perry, Ontario this weekend. I took pictures and I visited with family and friends and hung out around campfires and took long country walks on the new roads of the reserve. There is a lot of new housing being built, children playing and a peaceful place to raise a family and everyone being so friendly, it reminded me of a new country town in the middle of rural Ontario, something out of a book. I saw furry cows, all natural free range cows with horns and everything.

I figured I would pop in and say hello and say keep up the fight for accountability in Children’s Aid Societies in this province of Ontario. We are the people that fight for children and families in Ontario. We are the ones that hold the hands of families and children and fight against abuses in the Family Court System and we are the ones that will continue to hold both the government and the CAS accountable for the deaths of Children in Ontario past and present.

July 3, 2011 DAY 2291

2011-07-02T21:29:00.000-07:00

Father’s Day came and went. We watched the air show outside and took pictures. Jackie and Jaiden came for a visit and we had cake and a light barbeque. Connie called and not a word from anyone else.

We have been to court once and we met with a new lawyer for our client in our home/office last week.

My friend Sandra also had a birthday last week so we all went out for dinner and got her New Kids on the Block tickets for August 6, 2011 playing here at Copps Coliseum. It was a good evening hanging out with friends.

My sister came for a weekend visit and we went for breakfast and we talked and walked there and back to our house. We had coffee and a barbeque and it was great as I haven’t seen her in over a year.

It was a quiet Canada Day and Grandpa/Dad and I just cleaned up the garage and had a steak and sausage barbeque. The weather has been co-operative and it only rained a little bit tonight.

It has been a quiet two weeks as the summer is just starting.

I just found out my Aunt Dorothy died. I lost contact with her and hadn’t talked to her since 1988. She was 64 and died in April of this year from an undisclosed illness. She was my deceased mothers youngest sister.

I am heading to the Pow Wow in Scugog Island, Port Perry, ON this year on the weekend of the 16th and 17th of July.

It will be like a mini vacation visiting family and long lost friends.

I am staying at my sisters home and she has already said she will be passing me around to the family in town all weekend. First one I have attended in 15 years.

2011 Paediatric deaths review report out now

2011-06-22T15:24:00.000-07:00

http://www.news.ontario.ca/mcscs/en/2011/06/post-1.html
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

The full report can be found in PDF format here at:

http://www.mcscs.jus.gov.on.ca/stellent/groups/public/@mcscs/@www/@com/documents/webasset/ec090303.pdf

If you read pages 52 to pages 58 it gives further details of 109 children that died in Ontario, 49 were reviews by the Paediatric death review committee, 11% or 11 children in Hamilton-Niagara region.

I will give a more detailed analysis of this report when I read the full report. This is just a brief summary of what I have read so far.

DAY 2272

2011-06-14T17:49:00.000-07:00

June 14, 2011 DAY 2272

Well two weeks have passed and Barbeque season is upon us.

I am relaxing a bit more with the summer months coming.

• I had some clients and friends over for a few of them and we roasted marshmallows and got stuffed on steak and burgers.

• I still attend Family court on a weekly basis and visit with sick friends and people that can’t get out that much.

• As an avid shopper at the market I was appalled at the treatment of a senior citizen 82 years old and a vendor in the Hamilton Farmers Market for over 40 years. On May 31, 2011 at 6am me and Ed along with 30 other supporters dressed in red, were at the Farmers market bright and early to support Miss Tilly Johnson from being evicted and suspended for 30 market days from the Hamilton Farmers Market for allegedly assaulting a patron in the stall. The City of Hamilton withdrew their suspension later that day and instead gave her a stern warning.

• I went for dinner with Jackie my stepdaughter and granddaughter Jayden on Sunday.

• The Ashley Smith Coroner’s Inquest is stalled until June 21, 2011 as they want live webcast feeds for the Inquest and all interested standing lawyers and parties have to make their summations for or against it. I will keep an eye on those proceedings as well.

http://www.mcscs.jus.gov.on.ca/english/DeathInvestigations/NewsReleases/OCC_release_smith_update.html

I figured I would update my blog and diary to touch base with everyone in my network.

May 24, 2011 DAY 2251

2011-05-24T19:05:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy couple of weeks with the rain and weather not being very good. We survived the May 23 long weekend and even had a barbeque and lit a firecracker in the yard, which was cool.

A lot has been happening in the news and I wanted to come to my diary and blog to write about it.

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The Ashley Smith inquest continues and I watch the news daily as it is in its early stages. There will be a summer break and then it will resume in the fall. It is expected to wrap up in December of this year.
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The world was supposed to come to an end on May 21, 2011. That didn’t happen. Believe it or not I have childhood memories of our radio station CKPT Radio in Peterborough, ON would say that on such and such a day the world would come to an end. We made it a family affair. We would have a barbeque and all the trimmings, we would sit on top of the hill in front of my granny’s house and wait for the sky to open up and take us all up to heaven. Christians call this THE RAPTURE. As a kid I remember wondering why it didn’t happen, but always looked forward to the barbeques and fellowship with family and hanging out for God to take us all away.
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There was a funeral procession that took place on May 21, 2011 from New Market, ON to Queen’s Park to honor and respect all the children that died in the Children’s Aid Society’s care in 2009; 120 died while in foster care in Ontario, 8 of them in Hamilton.

http://www.fixcas.com/news/now/news.htm

You can see the pictures at the above website.

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I am also watching the progress and situation that has been on the news a few times and in the Hamilton Spectator. As an advocate and protector of accountability in this province of oversight with the Children’s Aid Societies of this province, I am disgusted about the reaction of the Hamilton Children’s Aid Society about this story and family. As a mother of 9, a grandmother of 11 and a great grandmother of 2 babies, I just have to put my two cents into this piece of news for the day, if that’s what you want to call it. I’m not one to ramble about the fears of parenting; but give your head a shake Heidi and Reuben Vanderkwaak.

http://www.thespec.com/feature/article/533697--hamilton-family-to-bike-20-000-kilometres-with-young-kids-in-tow

“Two parents, a pair of kids under five, nearly 135 kilograms of excess weight and 20,000 kilometres. By bike.

On Saturday, Reuben VanderKwaak and his wife, Heidi, will hit the road with their children Eden, 4, and Harper, 18 months, for a year-long trek halfway around the world.”

My response to this story is: Its okay for 2 adults… but not with 2 children at the age of 18 months and 4 years old. The youngest one is still in diapers and only 12 cloth diapers will be along for the ride for a year. They are traveling 20 000 kilometers on a bike ride that will take them through 3 countries, Canada, the USA and Mexico and be home again by next spring.

I used to be an avid bike rider in the city of Hamilton downtown. After moving up the mountain and living along Highway #6 I would never think about getting on a bike and riding down to the nearest Tim Hortons for a 6am coffee, before the start of my day. That would be taking my life into my hands. The roads are not safe for adults let alone children. Cars are in control of the road not the children. When they get tired or cranky, will the parents pull over and tend to their needs? There will be sickness and strife and worry on the part of the parents but the children can’t really complain because the parents are in control not them.

There have been a lot of comments on the Spectator website, stating child abuse, midlife crises, daring, way to go mom and dad, etc…

The Hamilton Children’s Aid Society got involved through a few anonymous complaints after this story aired and the CAS stated that it was a safe ride for the children. The family left on their journey on May 21, 2011. They are now on Day 4 of their journey.

http://www.chch.com/index.php/home/item/3470-parents-criticized-for-taking-kids-on-20000-km-bike-journey

How can Children’s Aid Society state something like that when they remove children from homes that home school their children, feed their baby solid food before they are ready for it, their house being a mess with toddlers, and also taking children from mothers who give birth at the hospital, never to take their baby home.

Children die at the hands of Children’s Aid Society in foster care yet two parents want to put their children’s lives in jeopardy through areas untraveled by them. Mexico has bans and advisories for travel by foreigners. Water is unsafe to drink in certain regions.

CAS/CPS is in every state, province and country.

I have heard the terms on blogs and websites of “free range children”, homeschooling children on the lonely roads bike riding into unknown territory, a place for families to grow together; but nowhere on these blogs or websites did I see or did I hear, oh we stopped the ride because my son fell out of a tree or off a climber in a playground and he broke his arm, had to get medical care in the USA, or we got bit by mosquitoes contaminated by West Nile virus. (Don’t forget we are in the spring in Canada and the USA folks).

Call me a bit of a rambler but all the horrors of traveling with children on a bus, train or plane can be the same, but at least the children have television, video games, comforts of home and play and not the wind in their face, cold and rain, weather, sickness, always questioning are we there yet, not knowing where they are going from day to day, or where they are going to stay for the night. We will live off the land and at the mercy of the kindness of strangers. We will sleep in farmers fields, camp out in trailer parks and from time to time get the luxuries of motel and hotel life and a hot shower. It sounds like a homeless person’s dream travels on a bike.

Did I mention that Heidi VanderKwaak is also a Community Services Worker for Ontario Works in the City of Hamilton, and they have been planning this ride for almost 2 years? A one year bike ride around the continent, maybe a book deal, how about a movie deal, a lot of sponsors and news coverage and an early retirement for a family of 4.

I will definitely be blogging about this family in the days and months to come.

http://www.pedalpoweredfamily.com/

Ashley Smith Inquest

2011-05-16T15:36:00.000-07:00

http://www.570news.com/news/local/article/226635--inquest-begins-today

The Ashley Smith inquest in Toronto started with fierce arguments about how much evidence -- if any -- will be open to the public.

Counsel for the Smith family, Julian Falconer, led a passionate objection by several human rights and media organizations against a request filed by the Correctional Service of Canada to suppress all evidence from publication until the jury's conclusions are reached several months from now.

Among the strenuous arguments against such a suppression, Falconer and others object to the fact this request was filed late Friday afternoon, with the inquest set to begin the following Monday morning.

Falconer calls that motion unprecedented and embarrassing, but not understandable, saying the CSC wants a "trial by ambush."

Falconer went so far to say the initials CSC, for Correctional Service of Canada really stand for "Conceal, Suppress, and Contain."

Counsel for the CSC declined to speak to reporters during Day 1 of the inquest.

Coroner Dr. Bonita Porter says evidence presentations will start tomorrow as scheduled, with five crucial videos to be submitted in the first few days.

Porter says she is not willing to discuss a publication ban today with such short notice, and is suggesting Thursday or Friday this week as a possible time to have that discussion.

Porter will consider another request that the faces of any guards shown in photographic or video evidence be blurred in media publications on May 24.

Porter also decided that any media requesting a copy of documents, photos or videos presented at the inquest may do so by filling out a form currently in use.

Coroners counsel had suggested a revised form that would have barred media or any member of the public from letting any evidence make its way onto YouTube or similar non-media internet uses.

Porter declined to use such a form.

Lawyers representing media outlets, including the Globe and Mail, CBC, and the Toronto Star argued such a limitation would not be possible.
570's Mark Douglas was in Toronto, as Counsel for the Smith family, Julian Falconer comments on the CSC requesting all inquest exhibits be banned from publication until the end of the inquest, some five or six months away...

Rosario Marchese's Second Reading debate for Bill 183 the Ombudsman Act

2011-05-06T21:18:00.000-07:00

Bill 183 is gone

2011-05-05T20:15:00.000-07:00

http://fostercarenews.blogspot.com/2011/05/ombudsman-voted-down-to-pleasure-of.html

This is directly from John Dunn's website regarding the Ombudsman Oversight.

"This is just a temporary post listing the names of those Ontario MPPs who voted in favour of Ombudsman Oversight of CAS agencies and other agencies in Ontario, and those MPP's and parties who voted against it. More details such as quotes from debates and links to debates will be included at a later date.

Ontarians who support Ombudsman Oversight of Children's Aid Societies and other publicly funded agencies are urged to keep this in mind this October election. Don't just use the October Election to tell them because they won't know who they lost because of it. So be sure to write them a letter informing them of the reason why you will or will not vote for one of those parties come October.

For now, the list of "for" and "against" votes in Ontario Legislature Today (extra notes and spelling party corrections will be added as the hansard becomes available over the remainder of the week)

Voted Yes for Ombudsman Oversight:

Rosario Marchese (Ont NDP) (He introduced the Bill)
Frank Klees (Ont PC) (Excellent Speech)
Peter Kormos (Ont NDP)
Mr. Bisson (Ont NDP)
Mr. Tabuns (Ont NDP)
Ms. Dinovo (Ont NDP)
Micheal Prue (Ont NDP)
Mr. Hardemon (Ont ?)
Mr. Chudley (Ont ?)
Mr. Miller (Hamilton East Stoney Creek) (Ont ?)
Mr. Craitor (Former Foster Child)

Votes Against Ombudsman Oversight
Mr. Phillips (Ont ?)
Mr. Ruprect (Ont ?)
Mr. Quinter (Ont ?)
Ms. Best (Ont ?)
Mr. Sergio (Ont ?)
Minister Laurel Broten (Min. Children and Youth Services - Ont Liberals)
Mr. Suza (Ont ?)
Mr. Arthurs (Ont ?)
Mr. Beradinettie (Ont ?)
Ms. Sandals (Ont ?)
Mr. Runoldie (Ont ?)
Mr. Rumole (Ont ?)
Mr. Quadri (Ont Liberals)
Mr. Coolar (Ont ?)
Mr. Flynn (Ont ?)
Mr. Dillon (Ont ?)
Mr. Bulkinson (Ont ?)
Ms. Albinaise (Ont ?)
Mr. Moriti (Ont ?)
Ms. Manga (Ont ?)
Ms. Jasmine (Ont ?)
Ms. Pendergast (Ont ?)

10 Yes
22 No

Motion Lost

The audience was disturbed and yelled comments such as "evil"... the recording will be added as soon as possible. "

Justice

2011-05-01T08:58:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy week getting ready for the rally on Saturday April 30, 2011.

I got up early yesterday and organized the day by inviting family and friends’ downtown. We all met up at Pam’s at Jackson Square.

Including my friend Sandra and her three kids, my daughter Jackie and granddaughter Jayden, my friend Joe and Dave, and me and Ed there was ten of us from our group that went to City Hall for the Justice for Andreas rally at 1pm.

There was a good turn at the city hall. I would say about 100 people showed up.

I took around 150 pictures and so did Ed.

We marched down Main Street to James St.

We went down James St and congregated at Jackson Square at King and James St.

We blocked traffic and then proceeded to walk down James St to King William St.

Right on King William St we walked towards the Hamilton Police Services Downtown station.

It was a good day of chanting, and well organized and no violence protest.

We finished up at around 3pm and the crowd dispersed and we all went back to the mall for coffee and hanging out.

There was a benefit concert at Gage Park at 7pm.

I started to get a headache so I decided to head home.

My daughter Jackie and her granddaughter went to the Gage Park event and said there was a good crowd of about 60 people there in the evening when she arrived at 7pm.

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May 1st is starting out with rain again.

I have a busy month ahead with clients and advocacy regarding Family Court, lawyers and other issues.

Private members bill 183

2011-04-25T20:34:00.000-07:00

I was given this email to forward so this is the best place I can put it and I will definitely be signing it and sending it off to other people as well.

Please use the form located below to email Ontario's Minister of Children and Youth Services, Laurel Broten, and demand support of Bill 183 to expand the Ombudsman mandate and an end to Bill 179 to prevent children from being stripped from good parents, extended family and friends.

Please share this message to all friends and family.

http://bill88.ca/bill183_179/index.php

DAY 2221

2011-04-24T13:55:00.000-07:00

I was just noticing the Day and it is almost an even number of DAY 2222.

I hope you are having a good day Vinny and Paige and the Easter Bunny was good to you both.

I can remember March 24, 2005 the day you left was the Thursday before the long Easter Weekend back then. That seems so long ago. yet it always feels like yesterday in my heart and what memories I have left I cherish.

It has been a busy week of family court and paperwork. We were in family court for the day on the 21st of April. The motion we presented was put off until June 7, 2011.

It is a beautiful Easter weekend. We spent Good Friday with friends and had a good day. We were downtown on the weekend visiting family and I gave out Easter treats to my daughter Jackie and granddaughter Jaiden.

I am supporting a new cause and event that is going to take place on April 30, 2011 at 1pm at Hamilton City Hall (next to the Family Court House) at 71 Main St West, for a protest Rally and Justice for Andreas for the senseless killing of a 19 year old man on Barton Street in Hamilton by three crooked Hamilton Police officers. There will also be a benefit concert at Gage Park at 7pm.

http://www.thespec.com/news/local/article/481938--family-asks-why-police-did-not-use-taser

LAWSUIT against Childrens Aid...NEWS RELEASE

2011-04-19T15:26:00.000-07:00

A former foster child who was abused in foster care for years has initiated a legal suit against the Catholic Children's Aid Society of Toronto.

The Press Release is shown below:

Date: Wednesday, April 20, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

RE: Former foster child initiates legal action against a Children's Aid Society for years of abuse and neglect in foster care while the Ontario Government opposes independent Ombudsman Oversight of Children's Aid Societies

TORONTO, ON – (Wed. April 19, 2011) Paul Williams, a former foster child (Crown Ward) who lived under the legal custody and control of a Children's Aid Society has retained the services of a lawyer (Loretta Merrit of Torkin Manes Barristers and Solicitors in Toronto) who specializes in historical and recent sexual, physical, and emotional abuse cases caused by members of clergy, doctors, police officers, teachers, group homes, and, privately incorporated Children's Aid Societies to name a few.

Although still in its early stages at this time, the suit seeks in part, damages for the time Williams was in foster care from the Catholic Children's Aid Society of Toronto and Nairn Family Homes Inc. for;

* breach of duty of care and fiduciary duty;
* breach of non-delegable duty;
* negligence; and vicarious liability

The suit also seeks in part, damages from individuals, including;

* physical assault and battery;
* psychological abuse;
* breach of fiduciary obligations;
* sexual assault, and/or infliction of mental distress

When Merritt was asked why people sue and what they hope to gain she said: “Sexual abuse has a devastating effect on all areas of a survivor's life. It hurts their self esteem, their relationships, their ability to trust others and in some cases leads to problems with substance abuse. She says people sue because they are looking for compensation for the injuries they have suffered. Money can’t make it all better but it can help fund therapy etc. Also, they want to help raise public awareness so that hopefully others will be encouraged to come forward. Ultimately survivors want to do anything that might prevent another child from being abused. It takes a lot of courage to come forward after years of silence.”

When Williams was asked why he initiated this legal action he said “It is a means for me to have a meaningful, productive life, hold them accountable for their neglect, and closure for years and years of anger and frustration. Additionally, since having joined a social activist group calling on Children's Aid Societies to be responsible for kids in their care, it's about ensuring kids in the system don't come out scarred like I am ”.

Over the past few years, Ontario's NDPs have introduced a series of bills in the legislative assembly which seek to provide vulnerable children and youth in foster care with independent, Ombudsman Oversight over Children's Aid Societies, only to have those bills met with extreme resistance from the Ontario government.

Ombudsman oversight is needed because currently, the Ministry fails to publish its Directives which are issued to Societies regarding corrective measures they are ordered to take, the Ministry does not publish statistics obtained from Societies through Serious Occurrence Reports regarding the number of children and youth who are abused while in foster care, the Ministry also fails to publish the number of law suits which are settled out of court with gag-orders forced on the victims preventing them from speaking freely about their settlements, and the Ministry and Societies fail to publish detailed budgets and financial reports revealing expenditures of Societies, and more.

The Foster Care Council of Canada is a non-profit group made up of former foster children and their supporters whose mission includes “Involving current and former foster children and their supporters in the process of improving the transparency and accountability of child-welfare services through a strong and united voice”.

###

To ensure you read the latest version of this post, please visit http://www.fostercarenews.blogspot.com as this post may have been modified since being sent out.

DAY 2212

2011-04-15T17:14:00.000-07:00

I am on DAY 2212 of my diary already.

The reason I write in my blog and diary is to remember and think about Vinny and Paige and update them and others on my daily life of what I am doing. I have been writing since March 24, 2005.

It has been a busy week with advocacy and I heard from Paige today on Facebook. I was surprised to hear from Paige and didn’t have a lot of time to talk to her and I felt that I didn’t want to bypass her and say I was too busy to talk to her, but time as it was I was on my way to a meeting at 1pm with a client.

I messaged back and forth with her for about 1/2 an hour and she asked a few questions that I didn’t want to answer via email, but I really need to answer them that will satisfy a 12 year old girl’s questions. I was surprised how old she was and to see her mature via pictures and email is catching only a glimpse of what her life is like.

I am working on those questions that may seem difficult to answer but it’s a roller coaster of emotions that I need to work out and answer as soon as possible.

This weekend is going to be catch up on laundry, housework and yard work.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As I stated this morning on my blog I went to the meeting as scheduled with our clients at 1pm.

At the last minute the Assessor Lourdes Geraldo had an emergency motion and had to cancel the meeting and assessment. She called our client at 12:50pm.

We all had lunch and discussed what our next move was and after lunch we went our separate ways and plan on meeting sometime on the weekend.
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Here is the letter that was sent out yesterday to the Ontario Collaborative Law President.

April 14, 2011

ONTARIO COLLABORATIVE LAW FEDERATION (OCLF)
Judith Huddart
1033 Bay St
Suite 314
Toronto, ON
Tel. 416 925 4500
Email: jhuddart@dranoffhuddart.com
president@oclf.ca

Dear Ms. Huddart:

I will start by giving you a brief description of who I am and what organization I represent.

My name is Edward Allen. I am the Executive Director of National Academy of Social Advocates (NASA). We are a grassroots Hamilton based group of volunteers dealing with social issues from ODSP/OW to CAS. Our primary focus is to research and to educate the less fortunate individuals in our society.

This situation that I am about to bring to your attention involves a young woman with three young daughters, that has volunteered with our organization for 5 years.
The reason why it is so important to read this letter is I’m going to give you the facts as I see it without the fluffy side.

We have a crooked cop that falsified an official police report; we have two Justice of the Peaces, the first one that failed in his duties in due diligence and properly proceed with this woman’s private complaint; third even though two other officers were involved in investigating the case, the one officer involved after reading the falsified police report dismisses the whole situation.

Due to the seriousness of the situation somebody with total disregard for this woman’s safety, gives her new address out; after all her attempts to find a new residence. Then I can only assume that someone being incompetent notifies the perpetrator of her phone number. Having contacted a new lawyer and the police failing to deal with the situation, the lawyer called her a liar, and has never represented her properly. SO she ends up being forced into mediation, her youngest daughter being threatened and intimidated in regards to the assessment, fined by the Family Court judge four hundred dollars because she has violated the perpetrators rights which ends up with the Family Court judge disqualifying himself from the court case because he sees a conflict of interest; the individual appointed to do the assessment in serious breach of conflict of interest after having previous involvement with the family; the Children’s Lawyer Mr. Wasserman and the assessor Lourdes Geraldo have both been told by the child very specifically the circumstances and her wishes and they totally ignore the seriousness of the situation.

2 years ago in June of 2009, I was approached by the intake worker in our office that she had received a phone call from this volunteer; that this volunteer’s ex-boyfriend, that she hadn’t seen for eight years forced his way into her home and told her that he was there, he was going to stay and if she told anyone he would kill her.

At the time I tried to get more information and as it turned out we lost touch with the volunteer; a couple days later she contacted the intake worker again, totally distraught and fearing for her safety, begging the intake worker not to say anything and said she would contact her again later.

A week went by and the intake worker received another call on a Sunday evening that the situation had escalated beyond the verbal threats and intimidation to an actual assault. Fearing the worst, we took immediate steps to attend the young woman’s house to see her and her three children and spent a considerable amount of time convincing the young woman and her distraught children that they needn’t live like this they needed to call the police.

When three police officers attended the residence and interviewed the young woman by herself outside; the lead police officer comes into the residence to talk to the children specifically the 17 year old, the oldest daughter.

As I was a witness with, with two other adults I was disturbed at the attempt the officer made to convince the oldest daughter that she was telling him wasn’t serious and it was all a joke.

The oldest daughter stuck to her story that she witnessed this male individual threatening her mother a number of times over periods he attended the house, (and then because it was the weekend, the whole family was together in the living room and just gotten out of bed; and the oldest daughter and mother were joking around and the male individual got involved in the discussion and turned it into an argument between the mother and himself and him being frustrated, he hit her on the upper thigh. Due to the fact that the family’s schedule being that they met with a friend on the weekend, they went and got dressed and left for the day.
This situation left this mother rather upset for the day, resulting in the mother calling us later on in the evening. The police informed the woman that this male individual would not be charged and all they were willing to do was to take his small bag of personal belongings to his job and he was to be told not to go near the house again)

Fearing for her safety, she left the home with her three children and entered the hostel system. Two days later she attended the police station to inquire as to status of her complaint of the assault and threatening by this individual. Once again she was told that no way that this individual would be charged and the police lied to her and stated that she could not lay her own charges.

Just so we make it perfectly clear the lead police officer involved Darren Smith failed to lay charges, lied to the woman by telling her she could not lay her own charges and proceeded to falsify an official police report.

A few days later I attended with this young woman to the Criminal court in Hamilton to lay a Private Information and to lay her own charges against the individual. The Justice of the Peace in question was very reluctant to accept the charges and finally accepted the charge of assault.

When leaving the Court house we noticed that there was paperwork available in order for us to file a peace bond. We proceeded to fill out the forms for the peace bond and went back to the Court House to file for a peace bond, and it was informed that this was not the way it was done.

The second Justice of the Peace thought it was kind of strange and he became concerned enough to call two other police officers and instructed them to investigate the set of circumstances to get to the truth of the matter.

I attended with this young woman to the upper floor of the court house, where the police officer was very concerned about her allegations of the incident; the police brought up the falsified police report that we had not seen previously and his whole attitude and mannerism changed and he threw us out of his office. We were quite concerned upon learning of the falsified police report; we filed charges against the police involved.

A couple of days later we found out that the police did a further investigation and that the individual was picked up and charged.

One week later while the young woman was picking up her children from school, proceeded to do their daily activity and stopped in at Tim Horton’s for a treat for the children; when she took the two younger children into the washroom she was informed by the oldest daughter who stayed in the coffee shop that the male individual that had assaulted her had followed the oldest daughter from the high school that she went to, to the coffee shop and her and her two children being deathly scared refused to come out of the bathroom.

The young woman called our office and we attended the Tim Horton’s to calm her down along with the police and to re-assure that she would be safe. She was informed that the individual was serving her with papers for Family Court.

She had already contacted a lawyer because of the criminal charges so she proceeded to see him about the family court matter. He was reluctant to handle the family court issue so she had to get another lawyer. When she attended the new lawyer’s office, and then the lawyer argued with her and said that she was lying about the threatening and the assault.

The young woman found that she had not only been threatened and assaulted by this individual, that she had got no co-operation from the police whatsoever, that her lawyer had argued with her and said she was lying about her story, after spending two months in the hostel system and finally finding a new address she was informed that the Criminal Court system had given out her new address. A week later she was informed that the police had given this individual her phone number.

If you can imagine as this case is dragging on and all these things that are happening, this woman and her children are seriously distraught; then with all her objections she is forced into a mediation which is clearly stated in law that if there is domestic violence situation mediation should not happen.

She then finds out that the Office of the Children’s Lawyer, Mr. Wasserman takes it upon himself and he forms a person opinion that the youngest daughter should have some involvement with this male individual/perpetrator. Then Mr. Wasserman pushes the idea after he was specifically instructed by his client the youngest daughter of how this individual became involved in this family and the assault; that she did not know the perpetrator and did not want to meet with him and was deathly scared of him; Mr. Wasserman insisted on the assessment. Mr. Wasserman was telling this young child on more than one occasion that her mother was going to get into trouble if she didn’t go to the assessment.

The mother in question; brought it to her lawyer’s attention a month and a half before the assessment was dealt with in the court that she wanted nothing to do with it. Her lawyer Mr. Kerr only response was we don’t care about the assessment as long as we don’t have to pay for it.

I apologize for the length of this letter, but I have never come across anything as outrageous, so crooked and incompetent as the circumstances I have witnessed in this situation.

But I would like to bring to your attention the serious matters in question. Not only did Mr. Wasserman threaten and intimidate this child and specifically go against her wishes, Lourdes Geraldo, the assessor took it upon herself to tell this child that her mother was going to get into trouble if she did not attend and meet with George Jones the individual/perpetrator.

We also found that the assessor Lourdes Geraldo is in serious breach of confidentiality and conflict of interest because she was involved with this family on a previous investigation situation when she was working as a Supervisor at Halton Children’s Aid Society. Lourdes Geraldo has conveniently failed to address the fact that she was previously involved.

She was also specifically informed of the child’s wishes and concerns and is still attempting to have a meeting with the child and the perpetrator George Jones.

Oh by the way, I forgot to mention to you that this individual, that before he forced his way into the woman’s home in 2009 he was not involved with this family for the previous eight years. And that was because in early 2000 the Hamilton Children’s Aid Society called the mother and asked her about her relationship with Mr. George Jones; and that they got a report that he had molested his previous girlfriend’s daughter. Upon investigating and talking to the middle daughter, they were informed that he had also molested her.

Children’s Aid Society started a Family Court action that George Jones was not to be involved with the family whatsoever, and that they would take the children away if he was involved.

So if you read this you can see why I am so concerned that so many people can screw up as bad as they have and this family has to suffer. Like I told you my agency does research and informs the less fortunate individuals as to what their rights are.

So being as specific as I can in taking so much of your time reading this, I would appreciate a response on what your opinion is on these circumstances and what actions will be taken.

Sincerely,

Edward Allen
National Academy of Social Advocates

Cc. The Hamilton Spectator, CHCH News, Global Television and all News Media

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WE are here to help children and families regarding the Children's Aid Society.
Thank you for your support!!

Justice is needed for this family....

2011-04-14T23:10:00.000-07:00

I am putting this press release on my blog to bring to light what has been happening in my world of advocacy and the struggles that have been happening for the past two years with this family.

I will keep you up to date as to what is going on with this family.

I'm back in Family Court with them on April 21, 2011 before a new judge.

We have sent a letter to a group called the Ontario Collaborative Law Federation (OCLF) http://www.oclf.ca/index.htm. We are waiting for a response.

They are the oversight and a new process for the form of family court justice that prevents the Family Court process backlog and the fighting back and forth methods of husband and wife during custody and access disputes, divorce settlements etc...

Under no circumstances in a domestic violence situation will this collaborative law process allow a husband and wife, boyfriend/girlfriend relationship to go through mediation, discussions out of court and the whole collaborative process.

This is a case that has been totally taken out of the realm of family court and the whole process of collaborative law.

It is a failure of the procedure, a lack of communication between all parties, and a total breakdown and destruction of a mothers attempt to keep her children safe from a perpetrator that continues to harass them through this new collaborative law process, and is getting away with it.

The child's wishes are not respected or listened to by the Office of the Children's Lawyer, her questions go unanswered.

She does not want to be forced into a situation of harm and no one is listening.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DATE: APRIL 15, 2011

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: ED ALLEN

PHONE NUMBER: (905) 679 6764 FAX NUMBER: (905) 667-1627

EMAIL: nationalacademy2005@yahoo.ca

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This is a true story that is about crooked cops, and incompetent Justice of the Peaces and lawyers.

The reason why it is so important to read this is I’m going to give you the facts as I see it without the fluffy side. This situation that I am about to bring to your attention involves a young woman with three young daughters that started 2 years ago in June of 2009.

We have a crooked cop that falsified an official police report; we have two Justice of the Peaces, the first one that failed in his duties in due diligence and properly proceed with this woman’s private complaint; third even though two other officers were involved in investigating the case, the one officer involved after reading the falsified police report dismisses the whole situation.

Due to the seriousness of the situation somebody with total disregard for this woman’s safety, gives her new address out; after all her attempts to find a new residence after being in the shelter system for 2½ months..

Then I can only assume that someone being incompetent notifies the perpetrator of her phone number. Having contacted a new lawyer and the police failed to deal with the situation, the lawyer called her a liar, and has never represented her properly.

So she ends up being forced into mediation, her youngest daughter being threatened and intimidated in regards to the assessment, fined by the Family Court judge four hundred dollars because she has violated the perpetrators rights which ends up with the Family Court judge disqualifying himself from the court case because he sees a conflict of interest; the individual appointed to do the assessment is in serious breach of conflict of interest after having previous involvement with the family; the Office of the Children’s Lawyer Mr. Wasserman and the Assessor Lourdes Geraldo have both been told by the child very specifically the circumstances and her wishes and they totally ignore the seriousness of the situation.

And now they are going to force the child to be in the same room with this perpetrator for an assessment, which is going to take place on April 15, 2011 at 1pm at this assessor's office.

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STAY TUNED!!

Later on in the morning I will be posting the letter that was sent to the Ontario Collaborative Law Federation President Judith Huddart.

DAY 2203

2011-04-06T17:04:00.000-07:00

A few people came for a visit this weekend and we are getting ready for spring. It has been raining and snowing off and on for about 2 days.

I do a lot of advocacy and organizing with people in the community regarding ODSP and Ontario Works on a daily basis; so most of my days are spent in Jackson Square or at meetings or in Family Court. Not much really going on in the news.

The federal election is still going strong with May 2, 2011; only a month away.

There was a rally on April 4, 2011 at the Ministry of Children and Youth Services and also at Queens Park. I did not attend but there was a lot of coverage on face book and in the Legislature.

Today marks another milestone in my diary. We moved to 268 Wellington St. N. on May 1, 2000 and we lived there until November 1, 2009.

We had a lot of memories with family and friends sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee and brainstorming about justice and fighting for the rights of those living in poverty, and then the tragedy and sadness when on March 24, 2005 our family was broken up by the Hamilton Children’s Aid Society and the Hamilton Police.

We had two landlords over the course of this time. One is a plumber and gas pipe fitter; the second one sadly died of illness in December of 2009, a retired school teacher in Hamilton.

After the sale of the two side by side houses in early 2010 it was then decided by the new owner to tear the houses down at 268 and 270 Wellington St. N.

The houses were vacated and boarded up and on April 6, 2011 the houses came down to the ground reduced to rubble and debris. Tomorrow or next week it will turn into a parking lot for the General hospital. I just wanted to make a mention of it in my diary and blog.

Children's Aid Society

2011-04-02T11:18:00.000-07:00

I picked up this poem/song from the Internet.

My face book friend said I could post it to my blog with her name added to it for authenticity.

CAS IS KNOCKING

who’s that knocking on my door
oh no my dishes aren’t done
I have laundry on my floor
the kids toys are everywhere
and I haven’t made it to the grocery store

we are from the Children's Aid Society
we need to come in
why do you not have any milk or juice in your fridge
what is all this laundry doing on the floor

who’s that knocking on my door
oh no my dishes aren’t done
I have laundry on the floor
the kids toys are everywhere
and I haven’t made it to the grocery store

we will be back
do not leave this house
no you can’t go get groceries
we are going to take pictures

who’s that knocking on my door
oh no my dishes aren’t done
I have laundry on my floor
the kids toys are everywhere
and I haven’t made it to the grocery store

They are back and the police are here
they want my children
They say they are going to send me to jail
If I don’t have my children brought back here
.

who’s that knocking on my door
oh no my dishes aren’t done
I have laundry on my floor
The kids toys are everywhere
and I haven’t made it to the grocery store

Now my children are gone
Because they say they might suffer emotional or physical harm
They made my children suffer emotional harm
They took my children based on hearsay evidence

who’s that knocking on my door
oh no my dishes aren’t done
threes laundry on my floor
The kids toys are everywhere
and I haven’t made it to the grocery store

I had no lawyer for the court
I was intimidated and mislead
their lawyer said you say yes
the judge asked do you agree to their involvement

who’s that knocking on my door
oh no my dishes aren’t done
threes laundry on the floor
The kids toys are everywhere
and I haven’t made it to the grocery store

Why didn’t the Judge say
Do you agree that your children should have been apprehended
I would have said no
instead of agreeing to their involvement
and my children could have come home

who’s that knocking on my door
oh no my dishes aren’t done
threes laundry on my floor
The kids toys are everywhere
and I haven’t made it to the grocery store

I thought they were going to help me
Now they won’t let me see my children
they don’t want me to know
what happened in that foster home
when all of the children were apprehended from that foster home

who’s that knocking on my door
oh no my dishes aren’t done
threes laundry on my floor
The kids toys are everywhere
and I haven’t made it to the grocery store

Deanne barker
March 4 2011

DAY 2194

2011-03-28T14:04:00.000-07:00

Okay this is the very first year I did not post on March 24, 2011 for DAY 2190, (6th year anniversary and two thousand one hundred and ninety days since they left our home and now we are without Vinny or Paige).

We were busy at the doctors and then life gets busier around here with spring cleaning and putting all the winter stuff away. Go figure as soon as I did that, we get the very last snow storm of the season. We were snowed in for about 2 days. The sun is shining now and hopefully by Saturday all the snow will be gone.

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We are in for a spring May 2, 2011 Federal Election this year in Canada.
That is less than 35 days away.

The real issues at hand should be poverty, and accountability and ethics of the Parliament of Canada.

We elect people to represent us in parliament yet they get rich while the poor stay poor. They forget why they were elected and think to themselves some day they will retire on a nice fat tax free federal pension.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Provincial Budget comes out tomorrow and we will see where that goes.

I am disheartened with both federal and provincial politics. I feel there is a need for accountability and ethics in government.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There is still a need for accountability in the Children’s Aid Societies of this province. There will be a rally on April 4, 2011 at Queen’s Park this year; it’s called March for Accountability and Oversight.

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There will be an inquest into the death of Jeffrey Baldwin later on the year. I will definitely update my blog to let you know when I hear of the date of this inquest.
http://www.thestar.com/news/article/962145--inquest-called-into-starvation-death-of-jeffrey-baldwin?bn=1

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I seem to be rambling in my postings today.
It has been a busy week of news, politics, sadness and remembrance.

DAY 2187

2011-03-21T18:32:00.000-07:00

I figured I would pop in and update my diary and blog for two weeks.

I am trying to be more diligent but things do get busy around here.

I am reformatting computers, organizing and trying to get stuff done around the house.

There is a lot of news this week, some you have already read and some that is new.

I am now counting down the days as to what I will do on March 24, 2011.

Some people from my past and present figure I should get on with my life and stop living in the past and of course stop counting.

But when Children’s Aid Society takes away your family, you cannot grieve or pretend that a child has died. They have physically left your home, they have left your life, and you have visits under the watchful eyes of the CAS.

All you have left are the memories of your past and what could have been or should have been. When your children and grandchildren see you on the Internet and question why you don’t see them or talk to them in person, what do you say to a computer screen?

What can change what has happened? What can you do to change the past or the future? I have a lot of questions that remain unanswered.

I haven’t written poetry for a long time.

It did keep my sanity during the 2 ½ year struggle with the family court, the visitation and the stress involved of the whole situation.

I suppose I will write something on March 24, 2011.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

I am still involved in advocacy in OW/ODSP and CAS matters. I deal with clients and families on a daily basis.

We are here to protect children and families from the Children's Aid Society
Thank you for your support.

In the news again...

2011-03-05T13:32:00.000-08:00

I have been to court a few times and held clients hands and fought for justice that failed a young woman and her three children. A known and alleged pedophile and abuser of women was let off the hook by a Hamilton Judge last week. But the judge did feel compelled to hold the accused (after he was acquitted) to a peace bond restricting his access to the victim for a total of one year. There is a new term out there that is now called a “COMMON LAW PREVENTATIVE JUSTICE PEACE BOND”.

I read a lot in the paper, and on the Internet.

I get ANGRY about the amount of the abuse that goes on within our justice system. Jeffrey Baldwin’s grandparents/killers even abused the system this week to appeal their sentencing in the courts. This appeal was squashed before it was even heard by the judges. The grandparents stating cruel and unusual punishment for their crimes and that the sentencing was too harsh for what they had done.

I think the real reason the appeal did not continue was there was still the issue of how accountable the CCAS was, when they were involved in this family at the time. This is the reason we need accountability within the Children’s Aid Societies of this Province with BILL 131.

This will prevent the deaths in the foster care system and in the family home by grandparent and parents that are supposed to be under the watchful eye of the CAS/CCAS.

http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2011/03/03/17486266.html

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I heard from a few flashes from my past this week. It was a very cautious and heartbreaking moment of remembering about what happened that tore our family apart so brutally on March 24, 2005.

Our 6th year Memorial Day is coming up and it will be two thousand one hundred and ninety days (DAY 2190) since our children Vinny and Paige have not been in our home.

Not a day goes by that I haven’t thought about them or wonder what they are doing.

DAY 2161

2011-02-24T06:59:00.000-08:00

It has been a quick month.

I have not posted much on my blog lately.

I had a nice Valentine’s Day this year.

I gave some treats to my friend and her three daughters.

I got two fake flowers with happy faces on them, a basket of candy, a bear and some chocolate from Grandpa/Dad.

We had a quick supper at McDonalds like we usually do every year.

Ron came for a visit, and we got 2 major storms this week.

We put our shovels away thinking that we would not need them after all the snow disappeared. Then all of a sudden there was a storm, now the snow is all back again.

Paige had a birthday on February 21st. Grandpa says Happy Birthday and so do I.

I figured I would pop in and say hello.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the news this week:

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/943239--dimanno-powerful-child-welfare-authorities-must-be-called-to-account

DiManno: Powerful child welfare authorities must be called to account
February 22, 2011

Rosie DiManno

When Elaine Campione was on trial for murdering her two young daughters, the prosecution deliberately declined to call child welfare authorities to the stand.
In a strategic gambit to secure conviction — which did, in fact, result — the Crown attorney avoided diluting the case by spreading the blame to anyone other than the accused.

Yet the defendant’s own parents, and her estranged husband, had expressed their urgent concerns about Campione’s mental problems to the local Children’s Aid Society, long before the woman drowned her children in the bathtub in a horrific act of spousal vengeance. The CAS has never been held to account for its decision to return those kids to their mom following her psychiatric hospitalization.

Child welfare authorities in Ontario have immense powers yet are accountable to no one.

The incidents where a member of the CAS or the Catholic Children’s Aid Society or the Jewish Family and Child Service have been charged criminally in cases of youngsters dying or suffering unspeakable abuse while under their supervision can be counted on the fingers of one hand.

The roll call of the dead includes:

• Jeffrey Baldwin: A toddler who was given to his maternal grandparents in a “family adoption,’’ despite the fact his grandmother had been convicted of second-degree murder in the death of her first daughter many years earlier (two other children had been seized) and his grandfather had been found guilty of assaulting children only six years previously.

The emaciated 5-year-old died from shock and bacterial pneumonia brought on by malnutrition. Court heard he was locked in a room surrounded by his own feces and was made to drink from the toilet. At death, Jeffrey weighed just 21 pounds.
An entry from the boy’s case file noted that his grandmother operated as a Society-funded daycare provider “and her worker at the time had no concerns regarding this family.’’

• Randal Dooley: Beaten to death by his father and stepmother 11 months after arriving in their household, he had 13 broken ribs, a lacerated liver and fractured vertebra, and a tooth in his stomach. When his teacher had earlier brought the child’s bruises to the attention of the school principal, that man had called the CAS to report the suspected abuse and was told, as he recounted from the witness stand, that “the CAS was not going to attend.’’

Two weeks after Randal died, the CAS phoned the principal back and asked, retroactively: “Did you expect us to come?’’

• Jordan Heikamp: Five weeks old when he died at the native women’s shelter in Toronto where his teenage mother had been living. The baby had starved to death because his mom had not breastfed him sufficiently, overly thinned the milk formula Jordan was given and been wildly neglectful of the infant’s needs.

The mother afterwards complained that her social worker had not provided the help she required to take care of the baby.

A coroner’s inquest would ultimately rule the death a homicide, though charges against the mother and the social worker were dropped at the preliminary hearing phase. The coroner’s jury, among its recommendations, urged that child welfare workers be reminded it’s the child who needs protection, not the mother.

An internal email allegedly from an executive of the agency, posted online by a children’s advocacy group, describes his initial response to media coverage of Jordan’s death: “I could not understand why this case was causing such an uproar against CCAS.’’

A couple of weeks ago, a Hamilton couple were convicted of abuse and endangerment over two youngsters found living in a locked basement room, after police responded to a 911 call made by the younger boy, who was all of 2 years old. In that case, the social worker had been in the basement mere hours before police arrived and noticed nothing amiss — not the stench of feces and urine, not the two rats caught in a trap.
At trial, the worker said she’d had a bad head cold that day, so was unable to smell anything.

“Her testimony about the basement was not credible or worthy of belief,’’ the judge concluded. “I find that it defies logic that she would not have detected some of the squalor.’’

Yet the Hamilton Children’s Aid Society stands by its employee.

Kids in care, those under agency supervision, are among the most vulnerable human beings in society. And everyone claims their welfare is of paramount importance. In practice, however, there’s a turf war over authority and the playing field is tilted heavily toward the impenetrable secrecy of child welfare agencies.

A Children’s Aid complaint brochure specifically disallows complaints directed at the CAS or the Ontario Child and Family Services Review Board (CFSRB) in matters “currently before the courts or that the courts have already decided,’’ and “matters that fall under other decision-making processes under the Child and Family Services Act or the Labour Relations Act.’’

The province has a Child Advocate office but that department doesn’t possess any investigative powers. It cannot compel cooperation from any agency.

Ontario is the only province that does not grant the provincial ombudsman authority to investigate child welfare agencies such the CAS, the CCAS or the JFCS. Deaths are investigated by the coroner’s office — after the fact, its recommendations non-binding.

There is, essentially, no apparatus for determining whether case workers have been either overzealous or undermotivated in the management of any child’s file and precious little parents can do when faced with the monolith of a child welfare agency scooping up their kids.

“In Ontario, the child protection system is exempt from oversight,’’ says André Marin, the Ontario ombudsman whose annual report this year will again call for changes to the Ombudsman Act, pleading for child welfare agencies to be brought under his office’s jurisdiction.

Marin’s office received 306 child welfare complaints last year, none of which he has the legislative clout to pursue. Ironically, the ombudsman can oversee the policies of the Ministry of Children and Youth Services but can’t investigate how those policies are being applied. “So, we can look into the ministry’s glass tower in downtown Toronto but we can’t reach out to the community that’s being affected.’’

The ombudsman’s office also oversees the operation of the CFSRB — a quasi-judicial entity that reviews complaints made about a child welfare agency’s decisions but doesn’t probe the underlying issues.

“They’re one per cent of the solution, that’s about it,’’ says Marin. “And we have oversight for them. Whoop-de-doo.’’

When a specific case explodes in the public arena — a child’s death, especially — there’s wide discussion of bringing welfare agencies to account, and then the urgency fades away until next time.

“These are powerful agencies that get $1.4 billion a year from the government,’’ says Marin. “They get very defensive, ferociously defensive. And they bring out their well-oiled PR machinery.’’

Marin has long been crying out for government to “plug the hole’’ in the Ombudsman’s Act relative to child welfare agencies. “It’s a legal anomaly that has existed since the ombudsman’s office was conceived in 1975.’’

Last November, an NDP private member’s bill was introduced, yet again, at Queen’s Park to amend the act. “It never goes anywhere,’’ says Marin. “The government always vetoes it.’’

Citizen groups have also been fomenting for legislative changes, holding protests outside some particularly controversial regional CAS offices. “They’re usually portrayed as lunatics or a fringe minority,’’ observes Marin, “but they have legitimate issues.’’

Marin maintains he has the staff to do the job if the province would just remove the shackles.

“I can’t think of any area more ripe for oversight than child welfare. Children die and no one takes responsibility, no one answers the important questions.
“It’s just so sad.’’

Rosie DiManno usually appears Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday

Judgment day

2011-02-10T12:38:00.000-08:00

http://www.chch.com/index.php/home/item/2073-confinement-case-sentence-handed-down

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Confinement case sentence handed down

A sentence has been handed down in a brutal child abuse case in Hamilton.

Thursday morning, a Hamilton judge sentenced a mother, her boyfriend and grandmother to two years less a day for confining two young boys to their basement and failing to provide the necessities of life.

The three were charged last year after police found the boys in a dark and disgusting basement room in the family's Stoney Creek home.

The walls were covered in feces -- and there were dead rats on the floor.

The defence has indicated that they see the sentence as excessive and may appeal.

Lisa Hepfner has more from the Sopinka Courthouse.

house of horrors update and sentencing

2011-02-05T12:11:00.000-08:00

http://www.thespec.com/news/crime/article/481892--impending-sentence-finally-brings-remorse

HOUSE OF HORRORS.

February 5, 2011

Now they know that locking the little boys in the basement was wrong.
Apparently they didn’t know that before. When they forced the tiny brothers to live in a small, pitch black makeshift basement room, putrid with feces and urine and with a great big wooden latch on the outside of the door.
It’s only now, as they await a judge’s sentence, that the mother, fiancé and grandmother of those sorely neglected children – aged 2 and 5 – realize the wrongness of their ways.

Only now that repentance and remorse could help them get a lighter sentence.
“I am very sorry for putting the latch on the door,” the mother wrote in a statement that her lawyer read at Friday’s sentencing hearing. “I never ever meant to hurt my children. I was trying to protect my son from hurting himself. But through all these court proceedings, I know and learned to never put anything on their doors ever again. If I could take it back, I would.”

Court heard from defence counsel that one of the boys had been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. By locking him in the dungeon room, his mother claimed she was keeping him safe.

The boys lived in the shameful, squalid cellar where dead rats lay about, exposed wiring hung within reach and the smell of human waste was so overwhelming that police officers who discovered the boys – by chance – had to steel themselves from gagging.

The children were rescued when they tore a hole in the wall of their locked room and the youngest child wriggled out, got to a phone and managed to dial 911. Police came to the Stoney Creek house not knowing the source of the call.

Officer after officer testified during the trial that the upstairs of the house, where four other young children lived, was pristine. The upstairs children had neat and cheerful bedrooms.

But downstairs, the two youngest children were kept in unfathomable conditions.
“It’s essentially tantamount to torture,” argued assistant Crown attorney Todd Norman who is asking for a penitentiary sentence of two to three years. “We wouldn’t treat animals this way. We wouldn’t treat prisoners this way.”

Defence is asking for a conditional sentence. Justice Bernd Zabel has reserved his decision until Thursday.

All three of the offenders were found guilty earlier of two counts each of confinement, abandonment and failing to provide the necessaries of life. The grandmother is also charged with assault for allegedly yanking the toddler by his arm until he was airborne in front of a police officer.

None of the guilty took the witness stand during their trial. So yesterday marked the first time their words had been heard in the courtroom. Each of the three made an apology – of sorts. None can be named for fear of revealing the identities of the children.

The mother chose to write her statement and have her lawyer, Peter Boushy, read it aloud. Boushy commented that her writing abilities are extremely poor despite her Grade 12 education and her former career as a personal aid worker.

The 62-year-old grandmother, who has relied on an Italian interpreter throughout the trial, had help writing her thoughts down. Again Boushy read it aloud.
“I have been in this country 48 years, never have involvement with the law or court systems … I cannot believe this is happening to me.

“I tried to do the best I could,” she wrote, citing the six children in the house and the chores she was tasked with.

In an interview included in his pre-sentence report, the fiancé described the household as being like a “modern Brady Bunch.”

“Their lives were hectic but happy,” the interviewer noted.

He was the only one of the three who spoke directly to the judge.

“I didn’t mean for none of this to happen,” he said. “I understand what I did was wrong.”

All three claim ignorance. That they didn’t know what they were doing to those two baby brothers was wrong or at least, that they didn’t do it intentionally.
But they had to know. They absolutely had to know. Because upstairs, in the very same house, under the care of the very same people, were four children who were being treated so much better.

Susan Clairmont’s commentary appears regularly in The Spectator. Sclairmont@thespec.com
905-526-3539

DAY 2134

2011-01-26T12:02:00.000-08:00

I am still helping people sort out problems with homelessness, Children’s Aid Society, and Ontario Works issues.

I get disheartened sometimes and listen and read so many stories on a daily basis. Television and sitcoms are my release or I would go mad with the amount of stuff that is on the internet that I read.

This is more a ramble on my blog today because there is so much going on.

I cannot be misled or give up the fight to gain independence from a system that is driving us all into the ground. The only way that we can fight the system is to join together and fight back legally and respectfully.

There is a movement out there to try and organize all groups regarding Children’s Aid Society issues across Ontario under one umbrella organization. That would be a good start. We just have to remember that we are all independent, autonomous and individuals, people and groups. We do have one common goal; accountability in the Children’s Aid Societies across this province.

One of my main issues that I deal with on a daily basis is people in poverty and homelessness.

People do not choose to be poor; it’s a product of what the system has created and they perpetuate the poverty.

It’s a multimillion dollar business to help the poor in our province. Food banks, hostels, soup kitchens, out of the cold programs, etc… are a growing concern in our communities. They provide assistance to those in need yet, if there was an adequate standard of living and quality of life through social programs such as Ontario Works and ODSP we wouldn’t need these services.

In doing some research in the past week, I discovered through my naivety that there is no real statistics of actual homelessness in Hamilton, ON. Measures and factors related to homelessness and measures of who used what shelter and food bank in the community.

I asked one simple question how many homeless in Hamilton? I haven’t found that answer yet.

I raise this issue because there has to be a union or a joining of forces of those living in poverty in Ontario. We have our poverty groups across this province such as OCAP and small anti-poverty groups across the country. We have to get organized and fight for what we are entitled to. We need a decent standard of living. The special diet is being cut from the mouths of children and families because the laws have changed so you have to eat less, or have little or no nutrition left. Hydro rates are going up, rents go up and of course you have to choose between keeping the lights on and paying your rent.

Anyone in power has no comprehension of what it is like to live in extreme poverty. There are people that have tried to live on food bank food for 3 days and then went back to their normal wealthy lives after feeling the effects of the lack of nutrition in the food bank food. The Premier’s daily expenses for lunch would probably cover someone’s rent for one month.

We are here to protect children and families.
Thank you for your support!!

CBC News - Edmonton - Inquiry examines death of girl in foster care

2011-01-18T19:25:00.000-08:00

CBC News - Edmonton - Inquiry examines death of girl in foster care

Hidden From History-The GENOCIDE of Native Children

2011-01-18T12:43:00.000-08:00

I received an email regarding the genocide of our native children in the past 100 years.

This is groundbreaking news and will hold the government accountable for its corruption for the past 100 years.

Breaking News: January 17, 2011

Prime Minister Harper to be Summoned to Tribunal to answer charges of complicity in Genocide; Tribunal will launch its own investigation in Canada

London, UK:

Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada is about to be issued a Summons by an International Tribunal to answer charges of complicity in genocide.

And the same Tribunal plans to start its own investigation into children who died in Canadian Indian residential schools, if Harper doesn't take action by March 1.

In a letter issued to Harper earlier today, the Executive of the newly-formed International Tribunal into Crimes of Church and State (ITCCS) accused Harper and his government of subverting justice and exonerating the churches responsible for the deaths of thousands of children in residential schools.

The letter states that if by March 1, 2011, Harper's government has not initiated criminal charges against the Catholic, Anglican and United churches and begun to repatriate the remains of the dead children, the ITCCS will dispatch its own staff of investigators to Canada.

The staff will conduct forensic investigations at alleged mass grave sites near former residential schools "in conjunction with indigenous elders and families of the victims", and will gather evidence to indict Canada for Genocide.

The ITCCS letter concludes by informing Prime Minister Harper that it intends to issue a Public Summons to him to appear before its opening session in London, England on September 12, 2011.

The Tribunal also plans to bring criminal charges against the aforementioned churches. The ITCCS has already issued a Summons to Pope Benedict, Joseph Ratzinger, to appear at the September Tribunal.

A complete copy of the ITCCS letter to Prime Minister Harper follows.

For more information, contact the ITCCS at genocidetribunal@yahoo.ca , or its Canadian field agent, Rev. Kevin Annett, at this email or at 250-753-3345.

.............................................................................................................................
Final Notification to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Government of Canada

Regarding your duty of compliance to an order that you cease and desist from obstructing justice and aiding parties to Crimes against Humanity in Canada

From The International Tribunal into Crimes of Church and State (ITCCS) and its Legal Advisory Group
(Established June 15, 2010)

17 January, 2011
London, England

Dear Mr. Harper,

Over the past three years, your government has legally exonerated the churches responsible for the death of more than 50,000 children in their Indian residential schools, refused to prosecute those responsible, and resisted all attempts to locate and repatriate the remains of these children for a proper burial and criminal investigation.

Accordingly, on October 25, 2010, our Canadian representative, Rev. Kevin Annett, wrote to you on our behalf and requested that your government do the following:

1. Begin criminal legal proceedings against the Roman Catholic, Anglican and United Church of Canada for their proven criminal actions in Indian residential schools and hospitals, including their responsibility for the death of more than 50,000 children,

2. Commence a public repatriation program to return the remains of these children to their homes for a proper burial, and

3. Conduct a full and unrestricted public disclosure of the full truth of crimes committed by both these churches and the Canadian government in these schools.
In the same letter, Rev. Annett also notified you that if your government failed to begin such actions by March 1, 2011, our organization and its personnel would intervene in Canada to do so.

Neither Rev. Annett nor our body have received a reply from your office. We must therefore assume that by your silence, you are not contesting these claims and the clear evidence that you, the Canadian government and the said churches are complicit in aiding and abetting this crime against humanity.

Accordingly, this letter will notify you and your government that as of March 1, 2011, as part of the work of our Tribunal, our field agents and other specialists will begin operating in your country and will be conducting their own investigations into these crimes, including conducting forensic examinations of alleged mass grave sites near these former residential schools. We will be doing so in conjunction with indigenous elders and families of the victims.

We will also be bringing legal charges, sanctions and other measures against the aforementioned churches and individuals responsible for these crimes.

The results of our investigations will be submitted as evidence before our international panel of judges and the world media when our Tribunal convenes in London, England on September 12, 2011.

In this regard, our representatives will soon be serving upon you, Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada, a Public Summons to appear before this Tribunal to answer these and other charges.

Sincerely,

The Executive, The International Tribunal into Crimes of Church and State (ITCCS)
London, England
Email: genocidetribunal@yahoo.ca
Cc: world media and governments

Canadian field representative: Rev. Kevin Annett, M.A., M.Div.
Email: hiddenfromhistory1@gmail.com - ph: 250-753-3345
Websites:
www.hiddennolonger.com, www.hiddenfromhistory.org

Samantha Martin Inquiry

2011-01-10T06:36:00.000-08:00

I received an email from Linda Plourde from http://protectingcanadianchildren.ca

Hello Everyone:

A rally will take place on Monday, January 17, 2011 at 9:30am in front of Edmonton Provincial Court, to demand justice for an innocent little disable girl Samantha Martin that no one under the ministry care to see the cries of pain, and anguish as she was being mistreated, subject to profound neglect in foster care. Despite capabilities highly dangerous, disturbing evidence of abuse-that can only be described as inhuman-the abusers were excuse on the basis that foster parents as “employees” of the ministry will not be help culpable. Even more inhumane, this was happening under a long list of Ministry’s staff awareness, and in the absence of response. Abuse of children is above all, a serious crime against humanity. Protection of the right to life is primarily ensured by criminal law and failure to protect a child from ill-treatment at the hands of abusers is a criminal offence, and a human rights’ issue. Children with disabilities deserve respect, understanding, equality and support. This type of abuse can only happen when Executive Directors of Social Services allow this to happen, and turn a blind eye to it. They all did. They were supposed to be there to protect and keep her safe, but they all failed miserably, including child advocates and social services.

Monday, January 17, 2011 at 9:30am - Friday, February 11, 2011 at 5:00pm

Edmonton Provincial Court, Room 449

Law Courts, 1A Sir Winston Churchill Square, Edmonton, AB T5J 0R2

Please join us to protect the innocent, and to demand prosecute the criminals.

Life can be saved by joining us , and create an outrage. The story of Samantha is horrific. We need to stand up, and wake up...

Linda Plourde

DAY 2109

2011-01-01T10:28:00.000-08:00

January 1, 2011

It is a New Year 2011. This will be the year for changes. I say the same thing every year and this year my two New Year’s resolutions will come true. I will quit smoking and I will have a baby this year. I am hoping to move back to my home reserve on Scugog Island this year. I want to make a lot of changes in my life for the good. I didn’t win the lottery last night. My chances were like one in twenty nine million.

There will be changes I can see regarding Ombudsman Oversight in Children’s Aid Societies in this province. I am hoping that with all the protests/rallies happening across this province they will wake up and realize that we as a unified group are not going away.

I will try to be more diligent in my diary writing and posting on my blog here.

When I get my driver’s license the first thing I want to do is go and visit Vinny and Paige; that would be so cool. Grandpa/Dad misses them very much and we still talk about Vinny and Paige on a daily basis. They are always in our thoughts and minds.

We are here to protect children and families from the Children's Aid Society!!
Thank you for your support!!

DAY 2102

2010-12-25T07:36:00.000-08:00

It is Christmas day today for everyone. I had a Christmas party on the 23rd so we celebrated with friends and family. We had lots of food and good fellowship with laughter and a few memories shared. I am under the weather today with a head cold and the flu so I will probably go back to bed for a bit. It is just me and Ed today.

I was thinking back and I remembered all the years of children’s laughter and fun of opening gifts year after year with my grandchildren and children. Christmas doesn’t feel quite the same anymore. It’s lost its spark and fun of the day.

I got some socks and a snuggy blanket from my friend. I got a Tim Horton’s Tim card for coffee that was cool too.

I got a phone call from my brother this morning. His wife Karen is in the hospital with some knee and arthritis problems. She has been there for about a month. She can’t walk and she has her good days and bad days. Josh was sad that he had a tree up and no one to share it with.

I was glad to hear from Vinny on Facebook it made my Christmas. I gave him my phone number. Maybe someday he will call me in the future.

I’m going to visit with Jackie (daughter) tomorrow on Boxing Day and deliver presents and gifts for my granddaughters Jauna and Jayden. My great grandson Adrian’s first Christmas this year so that will be a treat to give him a few presents and see his reaction.

I hope everyone has a Happy and Merry Christmas today and has fun enjoying your children and opening presents and all that mushy stuff. Cherish the memories and give your kids an extra hug or two.

DAY 2097

2010-12-20T14:49:00.001-08:00

The month of December has almost flown right by us all. I cannot believe it will be Christmas in 4 days. I will be one of those last minute shoppers on Christmas Eve this year, I think. It has been a busy month of meetings and advocacy.

I follow the activity of the Children’s Aid Society rallies that have been happening across Ontario. I commend all the advocates for keeping Bill 131 for Oversight of the CAS’s in Ontario by the Ombudsman in the forefront of our minds and lives. There will be changes in the New Year for 2011. Everyone has resolutions that they promise to keep for a new beginning. I am hoping it will be a year for change, prosperity and finding lost family and friends.

I still think of Vinny and Paige on a daily basis. I still write in my diary every day, week, month and now years. I haven’t written any poetry for awhile. That is something I should continue. I just need a moment of silence and peace, which I don’t get very often unless I’m asleep.

I came across Canada Court Watch’s website and they have been approached by a lawyer to start a CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT against the College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers. I will stay tuned for that case and definitely give some input of this in the new year. When we were fighting in the family court system from 2005 until 2007 we had 33 social workers/child protection workers involved in our case; 3 of them were Registered Social workers.

http://www.canadacourtwatch.com/content/class-action-lawsuit-against-ontario-college-social-workers-and-social-service-workers

We are here to protect children and families from the Children's Aid Society!!

Thank you for your support!!

House of Horrors update in stoney creek

2010-12-13T19:36:00.000-08:00

http://www.thespec.com/news/crime/article/300794--absence-of-interpreter-delays-child-confinement-case-again

Absence of interpreter delays child confinement case again

December 13, 2010

For the second time, the absence of an interpreter has delayed the court case involving two small children who were locked in a filthy basement bedroom.
A sentencing hearing was to take place yesterday but has been put off until February after an Italian interpreter travelling from Windsor got snowed in and didn’t make the trip to Hamilton.

A mother, her boyfriend and a grandmother have each been found guilty of two counts of confinement, abandonment and failing to provide the necessaries of life. The grandmother — who has had a court-certified interpreter throughout the trial — is also guilty of assault. A publication ban prohibits the naming of the guilty because doing so might identify the children.

The brothers, aged two and five, lived in a squalid, windowless cellar room. They were only rescued when police responded to a 911 call made by the toddler when he escaped from his locked room through a hole he made in the wall.

Earlier in the trial, the case had to be put over when the Italian interpreter called in sick and a last-minute replacement could not be found.

This time, Justice Bernd Zabel expressed his frustration that there is no Italian interpreter available in Hamilton.

“With such a large Italian population in Hamilton, you are telling me the interpreter has to come all the way from Windsor?” he said. “It’s very unfortunate and unacceptable.”

a victims statement

2010-12-09T11:23:00.000-08:00

http://www.cbc.ca/news/pdf/rodney-stafford-victim-impact.pdf

As Christmas is around the corner, I think about all of all the families that are destroyed by violence, murder and death. This is only one of a few cases that I think about when it comes up in the news.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/12/09/f-tori-stafford-victim-impact-statements.html

Take some time to remember Tori/Victoria today. One of the murderers has plead guilty and the other one will stand trial someday.

DAY 2077

2010-11-30T19:14:00.000-08:00

It has been a busy month of appointments and court appearances.

I have been following a lot of cases and do advocacy on a daily basis to clients and friends alike.

I have attended “forced parenting assessments” with clients, and I have listened to a very adamant and angry court judge in our Family court system here in Hamilton; who actually threw one of our advocates out of the court room for just speaking on a clients’ behalf as to her rights in the system that has hurt her for the past year.

We have fought and continue the fight for justice for single parents and children. I have attended meetings with lawyers and clients; I have attended police stations and more court house appointments.

I have written letters and complained to the Office of the Children’s Lawyer (OCL) and family lawyers that spew their line of “we are here on behalf of the children and the family court”.

I have spoken with a child that has said to me they don’t want to be forced into a situation that is harmful to them or their family by attending forced therapy for families and re-integration and introduction with an alleged and known pedophile and an abuser towards their own mother.

Where is the justice?

Where is the common decency and protection of the family and child?

The family court judge awards costs to this abuser by charging the victim $400.

This same family court judge then bans all visitors, supporters and agencies from his court room again today based on what happened in the previous court hearing.

This is just one case in a thousand that family court judges rip apart and destroy in Hamilton and Ontario.

We are here to ensure the rights of the child and the family is protected.

We provide assistance, guidance and moral support to the family.

It is time to take a more pro-active approach in this case.

We have to stand up and fight together for this family and all families that are at the mercy of the Family Court system.

This is a family that is worth fighting for.

I have worked with this family since August 2009.

Stay tuned for more details and updates.

I will be doing a video over the month of December with this family as to the injustices they have faced for the past year and a half.

We will name the CAS workers, the Justice of the Peace judges, the police officers, the Family Court judges, the OCL Lawyers, family lawyers, assessors, even the abuser, to bring to light what has failed in the family court system and what has failed to protect this family from.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

I still think of Vinny and Paige on a daily basis. That is why I still count the days and now it is 2077 days since they were last home with us. I see them on facebook and I have photos up for decorations at Christmas time.

This is why I continue to help other families and children that are hurting and I think and remember what I went through and that there was no one there to help me. It was just me.

Introduction of BILL 131

2010-11-15T22:02:00.000-08:00

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2010/11/14/ontario-ombudsman-ndp546.html

The introduction of the bill was today, November 15, 2010

Vulnerable seniors in long-term care homes and families torn apart by social workers are just two reasons why Ontario's ombudsman needs expanded authority similar to his counterparts in other provinces, say social activists and the NDP.

The Advocacy Centre for the Elderly, a legal aid clinic that helps low-income seniors, finds half its practice involves problems with people in long-term care facilities, hospitals and retirement homes, said executive director Judith Wahl.

"We get thousands of complaints a year, so we would welcome the addition of the ombudsman looking at some of these issues and providing some remedies," said Wahl.

There are plenty of regulations governing the health-care sector, but they don't always protect patients, Wahl added.

"Despite the fact there is a great deal of legislation that governs all of these health bodies, we see the phenomenon of good law/bad practice, so the systems do not reflect the law," she said.

"We see policies and practices that take away people's rights, or do not provide the whole scope that is afforded by the legislation."

The Foster Care Council of Canada said workers at Children's Aid Societies in Ontario are burdened with heavy caseloads and often have little time for the clients they are supposed to serve.

"As a former Crown ward, I experienced a great deal of frustration with CAS workers," said council spokesperson Michele Farrugia.

"Some foster children fight for more than 10 years to get copies of their own personal records from a CAS. Sometimes, Children's Aid Societies take away children for very little reason."

There are family situations that the Ombudsman could quickly address before they take tragic turns, added Farrugia.

"We also know of siblings who were separated when taken into care and only discovered each other late in adult life, despite the fact they were never adopted," he said.

"Ombudsman's oversight is vital to ensuring the best interest of Ontario's vulnerable children and youth."
Problem 'not going away'

New Democrat Rosario Marchese plans to introduce a private member's bill Monday to give the ombudsman the power to investigate hospitals, long-term care homes, school boards, municipalities, and Children's Aid Societies.

The ombudsman's office already receives complaints about these institutions each year but is powerless to help, Marchese said.

"This problem of complaints is not going away," he said.

"Problems are happening in every one of the institutions … and we believe there is no downside to having an ombudsman have oversight into these institutions."

The ombudsman could find out why there are 9,000 children in Ontario waiting to be adopted, added Marchese.

"For some reason in Ontario we're having a hard time making sure that these kids get adopted," he said.

"Maybe there's a good reason, but someone like an ombudsman would be able to get in there, review the matter and recommend changes in a very expeditious matter."

Marchese isn't the first to introduce such legislation. Liberal backbencher Mario Sergio introduced his own private member's bill in 2008 to create the office of the seniors' ombudsman.

"Every day, there are seniors whose rights, whose dignity, whose quality of life is trampled upon, threatened by negligence and uncaring government bodies, and by others as well in the private sector," Sergio said before his bill went down to defeat.

The Progressive Conservatives said they were open to Marchese's legislation, noting the province spends $60 billion on health care and education each year.

"We'll look at all avenues wherever the public's dollar is spent to make sure is has the proper oversight and accountability," said Opposition critic Jim Wilson.

"If we need officers of the legislature to help us with that, then I don't think we would rule that out at this time."
No oversight of hospitals

Private member's bills rarely become law in Ontario, and even Ombudsman André Marin admits his office has been pushing for the expanded oversight powers for decades.

"Our annual reports for the last 35 years have consistently called for the ombudsman's mandate to be modernized to include the MUSH [municipalities, universities, schools and hospitals] sector," Marin said in an email.

Ontario is the only province whose ombudsman has no oversight of hospitals, but the office still gets complaints.

"They focused on issues ranging from complaints about poor communication by administrators to serious allegations of abuse and substandard care," Marin wrote in his 2010 report.

The province created the Family Services Review Board as an arms-length body to oversee complaints about Children's Aid Societies, said Children and Youth Services Minister Laurel Broten.

"It's incredibly important that we have oversight and that Ontarians feel there are mechanisms for them to raise issues of concern, and those processes have been put in place by our government," Broten said in an interview.

"The steps our government has taken have vastly improved the oversight and put in place a very specialized approach when it comes to kids and families."

The Ministry of Municipal Affairs said provincial law allows every municipality to appoint an ombudsman, integrity commissioner, auditor general and lobbyist registry if they wish.

The Ministry of Health said it has proposed legislation which would expand freedom of information legislation to hospitals and will require them to post expenses and attest to their use of consultants.

In Flanders fields Nov 11

2010-11-11T16:00:00.000-08:00

In Flanders fields the poppies grow Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead.

Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.

LET THE OMBUDSMAN IN

2010-11-10T08:48:00.000-08:00

November 9, 2010

ADVANCE COPY
Let the Ombudsman in: NDP

QUEEN'S PARK - NDP MPP Rosario Marchese wants to expand the mandate of the Ombudsman so that he can do more to protect Ontarians.

Marchese is introducing a bill to allow the Ombudsman to investigate complaints about hospitals, long-term care facilities, retirement homes, school boards and Children's Aid Societies.

"There's this enormous frustration out there. When people with complaints about these public institutions try to get answers, they hit a wall. Ontarians need somewhere to turn when no one else is listening," said Marchese.

Indeed, over the last five years, the Ombudsman has been unable to investigate any of the more than 4,000 complaints he has about the following institutions:

Health Care - Year after year, the Ombudsman receives complaints about administrative issues, substandard care, and patient abuse in Ontario's hospitals, retirement homes and long-term care facilities. Yet "the province remains without an independent, effective oversight mechanism to deal with individual and systemic issues in the health care field," said current Ombudsman Andre Marin. With an aging population and a strained health care system, oversight is now more important than ever.

Schools - Too often, complaints regarding Ontario's schools are swept under the rug. When children are bullied or when students with special needs don't get the resources they need parents have nowhere to turn. "Every week I get calls from parents that are frustrated. They call the Ombudsman and he can't do anything for them. It makes no sense," said Marchese.

Children's Aid Societies - Ontario is the only Canadian province not to grant the Ombudsman the power to investigate Children's Aid Societies. When Children's Aid Societies fail to carry out their duties, "families can be broken apart needlessly or children can be deprived of stable foster care or adoptions can fail, or, at times, children can suffer abuse or even die," noted Marin.

Marchese's bill will be introduced when the Legislature resumes on Monday, Nov. 15.

-30-

Media Inquiries: Sasha Tregebov 416-325-9092

DAY 2052 and a great conference Success

2010-11-05T20:01:00.000-07:00

I have been waiting in anticipation for the conference all week and I was off to the conference this morning for Protecting Canadian Children at the Banquet Center in Stoney Creek.

http://protectingcanadianchildren.ca/

My friend and guest Sandra and I got there at 10:00am and we signed in and waited for the day’s events to start.

Linda Plourde was the host and the master of ceremonies was Chris Carter a fellow advocate.

Ed arrived later on and we all sat together at the middle table.

There were approximately 75 people in attendance. All there for one common goal to unite and fight against a tyranny called the Children’s Aid Society.

There were grandparents and single mothers, divorced fathers and two special guests that arrived from Calgary Alberta Velvet Martin, the mother of her deceased daughter/angel Samantha Martin and a father from New Brunswick. Both had stories to tell of the failure of the CPS/CAS system and the Family Court system in their provinces.

There were 24 speakers in total.

We had a nice lunch and had coffee and water throughout the day.

I met a lot of acquaintances and people I talk with on Face book and it was great to put a name to a face that is on Face book.

I heard stories that brought a few tears to my eyes and there was a lot of sadness in the room.

I have heard a lot in my years of advocacy and this brought a lot of families together to share their pain.

I took a lot of pictures.

My friend Sandra left and brought her two children back for the remainder of the conference.

It was a successful and eventful day of stories and an educational experience to learn about the Children’s Aid Society that is not there to protect families they are there to destroy them.

I am grateful to be a member of such a group of elite and humble body of advocates that strive to fight for the children and families of our Province.

We must continue the fight and have many more meetings in the future in our respective communities to bring accountability to the system.

I would like to thank Linda Plourde for inviting me, Ed and my friend Sandra.

She is to be commended on a job well done.

It took a lot of planning and organization to hold a conference for a complete day’s event.

We are here to protect children and families from the Children's Aid Society.
Thank you for your support

DAY 2048

2010-11-01T23:11:00.000-07:00

It has been a cool weekend. There is snow in the forecast. Halloween was quiet and I got a few decorations for the house. Grandpa/Dad is doing good and his hand is all healed up from the injury he had in the summer. We still think about Vinny and Paige on a daily basis and I see them on Face book daily.

I am looking forward to the Protecting Canadian Children event on November 5th, 2010 this Friday. I am promoting the event on a daily basis to people I come in contact with. I look forward to seeing everyone on Friday.

I am getting a bit disheartened and sad with the Grape Expectations rally and event. I just have to re-group and re-organize a bit. The weather was frightful and cold...I didn't get any phone calls or support for the rally so I decided not to attend. I don't know if anyone else showed up at the event...I will find out tomorrow. This is not to say I will be giving up the fight.

I just feel sad that Hamilton has become so complacent in public rallies against the Hamilton Children’s Aid Society and their tactics. Now is the time for accountability within the CAS. Ombudsman oversight must be achieved in the coming months for the sake of our children and families.

I continue being an advocate for those in poverty, single mothers and teenage mothers all dealing with the Children’s Aid Society on a daily basis.

Letters to the Office of the Children’s Lawyer, court appearances, and a lot of phone calls and letter writing has become a daily occurrence in my house.

We have uncovered corruption and absolute disregard to the safety and security of a person by the Hamilton Police.

We have stood up against the CAS and protected children and families from their involvement and prevented many family break ups by assisting families to unite against the CAS.

Good news though someone in the community donated an 8½ x 17 photocopier so that will definitely come in handy.

We are here to protect children and families from the Children's Aid Society.

Thank you for your support.

upcoming rally

2010-10-27T19:52:00.000-07:00

NEW ombudsman oversight Bill introduction

2010-10-27T14:26:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

NDP Introducing New Ombudsman Oversight Bill

From the Office of Andrea Horwath,

On Thursday, November 4, MPP Rosario Marchese at 1 p.m. will be introducing a private members bill for First Reading in the Ontario Legislature calling for new powers for the Ontario Ombudsman, including the authority to investigate child welfare and protection complaints.

The bill represents a complete overhaul of the Ombudsman’s Act to allow investigations into child welfare and protection, health care facilities and hospitals, school boards and municipalities.

There will be a press conference at 10 a.m. in the Queen’s Park Media Studio on the morning of November 4th to promote the bill, which represents a comprehensive approach to modernizing the role of the Ombudsman in the 21st century and improving openness and accountability to the public.

All are welcome to attend one or both events.

To confirm or to obtain more information, please contact Sheila White, Executive Assistant to MPP Andrea Horwath, at 416-325-2777, or email Sheila at ahorwath-qp@ndp.on.ca.

Day 2041 October 25, 2010

2010-10-25T10:20:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy week and I have been sticking close to home.

Today is voting day across Ontario for municipalities to vote in a new mayor and city council. I have to get that done today before 8pm.

There are only 7 days until the rally at Carmen’s. I am hoping to get the rally set up for the day at the Family Court house in downtown Hamilton.

I feel that it will get us pepped up for the evening one. Then if people have to leave prior to the evening event they can show support for the downtown event in Hamilton. I need confirmation from people who will be attending. You can contact me via email or face book to confirm your attendance.

A lot has happened in the news and I keep up with current events. I have not decided who I will vote for. I think a lot of it has to do with the existing government we have and the new ones we elect to represent us. I will be following the election results this evening.

house of horrors update of CAS case in Stoney Creek

2010-10-18T13:04:00.000-07:00

http://www.thespec.com/news/crime/article/267646--trio-guilty-in-basement-abuse-case

Trio guilty in basement abuse case

Dead rat found in the basement of the Stoney Creek home.

Susan Clairmont

October 15, 2010

A grandmother, her son and his fiancee have been found guilty on all counts of child abuse charges after keeping two small brothers locked in a tiny, windowless, filthy basement room.

The boys, aged 2 and 5, lived “in conditions of unthinkable squalor, filth and putrification,” said Justice Bernd Zabel in handing down his decision this morning.

The three Stoney Creek adults, who cannot be named due to a publication ban protecting the children from being identified, are each guilty of two counts of confinement, abandonment and failing to provide the necessaries of life. The grandmother is also guilty of assault.

All three remain on bail, with no contact with the children, until they are sentenced in December.

ombudsman and Huron perth Childrens Aid

2010-10-17T07:49:00.000-07:00

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/windsor/story/2010/10/15/ont-ombud-complaints-childrens-aid.html

Ont. ombudsman probes Children's Aid Society

Last Updated: Friday, October 15, 2010 | 2:41 PM ET
The Canadian Press

The provincial ombudsman will now be able to look into any complaints about a cash-strapped Children's Aid Society in southwestern Ontario.

Andre Marin's office said the ombudsman has jurisdiction over the Huron-Perth Children's Aid Society, now that the provincial government has appointed a supervisor for the agency.

Children and Youth Services Minister Laurel Broten announced this week that she has appointed an interim manager to replace the Stratford, Ont.-based society's board of directors.

Normally, the ombudsman does not have jurisdiction over children's aid societies in Ontario.

But Marin's office said that changes when the provincial government takes direct control, since the ombudsman has jurisdiction over the Ministry of Children and Youth Services.

The Huron-Perth agency — which serves almost 450 families each month — has said it's not getting enough money from the province and expects to shut down Dec. 15.

It says the province's funding formula is flawed, leaving it with a projected $1.3-million deficit and a large debt, despite program and staff cuts.

Marin's office said in a release that Ontario is the only province in Canada whose ombudsman does not have a mandate to oversee child protection services.

"Despite this, the ombudsman's office receives many serious complaints about these agencies every year that cannot be investigated," the release said.

A total of 296 complaints about children's aid societies were received in fiscal 2009-10, the ombudsman's office said.

Complaints about the Huron-Perth Children's Aid Society or any provincial government service or agency may be made to the ombudsman's office at 1-800-263-1830, or via an online complaint form.

dont forget November 1st

2010-10-14T09:30:00.001-07:00

Child Assist Services has developed the same flyer for the past six years.

I cant believe it has been that long since our very first protest on October 30, 2005.

Grape Expectations Rally

6th Anniversary in Protest against the Hamilton CAS fundraiser

• On November 1st 2010 from 6pm to 9 pm at Carmen’s Banquet Center at 1520 Stonechurch Road our group, Child Assist Services will be out front to protest against the abuses of our children in foster care and for the families affected by the Hamilton CAS.

• CHILDRENS AID SOCIETY DOES NOT HELP CHILDREN THEY DESTROY FAMILIES.

• COME OUT AND HOLD A SIGN, SUPPORT THE FAMILIES

• 120 CHILDREN DIED IN FOSTER CARE WHILE UNDER THE CARE OF THE CAS IN ONTARIO IN 2009, 8 in Hamilton

CHILD ASSIST SERVICES
2235 UPPER JAMES ST
HAMILTON, ON L0R 1W0
(905) 679 6764

www.maekids.blogspot.com

Rally organizing update

2010-10-13T21:47:00.000-07:00

October 14, 2010 DAY 2030

The weather has been terrible. My cold has now entered my lungs so I am still coughing a lot and in a lot of pain. It is sunny one day and raining for days on end. I guess the weather is turning into fall and winter really fast.

I am doing up a flyer for the rally on November 1, 2010.

I want to get downtown to King and James Street on the 20th of October to flyer to the people in front of Jackson Square.

I am hoping to get a flyering squad together on this day, October 20, 2010.

As a preliminary to our rally I am going to hold (like we have done in the past) a rally/demonstration for people in the downtown core of Hamilton at the Hamilton Family Court House at 55 Main Street West who otherwise cannot make it to the evening event.

Stay tuned to my blog for further details.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

It has been a Happy Thanksgiving this year. I prepared a nice dinner for friends and family.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

We are here to protect children and families from the Children's Aid Society.
Thank you for your support.

Annual Rally for Accountability in the CAS Queen's Park Toronto Canada

2010-10-08T17:05:00.000-07:00

DAY 2023

2010-10-06T22:53:00.000-07:00

I have had a few busy weeks so I have been unable to get to my blog as often as possible.

Child Assist Services and a few volunteers and hired help moved a disabled man from his home of 5 years. We did that for the past three days. We are a little tired and sore but life continues with the struggles of fighting against the system and the Children’s Aid Society.

It is good to see that the fight continues with accountability within the CAS as I see that the Rally for Accountability in Toronto on October 4th was a great success. I wish I could have attended but prior commitments made it impossible.

I have also been fighting a flu bug/cold for the past week. Buckley’s cold medicine comes in handy. It tastes awful but it works.

I still see Vinny and Paige on Facebook.

I am getting organized for our Rally on November 1, 2010. I have the regulars that have been in attendance every year already confirmed to attend, so far I am up to 8 people for sure.

It would be great to have a lots of people turn out this year. But as they say if even one person shows up its worth the effort and is still a success.

Please contact me via email or facebook so I know if you would like to attend.

We are here to protect children and families from the Children's Aid Society
Thank you for your support

CAS ignored warning

2010-09-23T18:22:00.000-07:00

http://www.thespec.com/news/local/article/260694--neighbour-says-police-cas-ignored-warning

Neighbour says police, CAS ignored warning
Nicole O'Reilly

September 23, 2010
THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR

(Sep 23, 2010)

A neighbour and friend of the man shot by police after a chase through a west Mountain neighbourhood says the incident could have been prevented had police and the Children's Aid Society heeded his warning.

John Barlett lives on Cranbrook Drive and his son goes to school with the shot man's two boys. He was on his way to bring his son's lunch to school Tuesday when he said he came across the man outside his home acting irrationally.

One of the man's sons was taken away by the Children's Aid Society of Hamilton the day prior, Barlett said he was told. And the CAS was coming back that day.

The man had a chair propped outside his townhouse door, messages were scrawled on the bottom of pizza boxes and he was rambling about CAS, he said.

His eyes were glassy and he was wearing a trench coat several sizes too large, Barlett said, adding that in the past he had tried to get his friend help for what he believes are mental health and addiction issues.

Then, the man turned to him and said the CAS would be back soon, "stick around 'cause it's going to be a mess," Barlett claims he said.

After trying to calm his friend down, he said he called Hamilton police dispatch and asked to be connected with the Mountain station. He said it rang 47 times with no answer.

Then he tried CAS, where he alleges the woman who answered the phone was rude, continually questioned why he was calling and refused to put him through to a supervisor or the person on the case.

A little over an hour after speaking with his friend, Barlett heard the shots fired.

Hamilton police said they had been called to assist an agency, identified by Barlett and neighbours as CAS.

Around 12:45 p.m., his friend had waved around what witnesses described as a butcher's knife, before running around the neighbourhood and eventually being shot.

He jumped up after being shot and ran into a neighbour's house. That neighbour happens to be the former wife of Barlett's cousin.

Ontario's Special Investigations Unit, which is called when someone is seriously injured in an incident with police, is investigating.

The victim underwent surgery at Hamilton General Hospital, said SIU spokesperson Monica Hudon. His injuries are not life-threatening.

All matters involving the case, including Barlett's claims, will be part of the investigation, she said.

Both Hamilton police and the Hamilton CAS said they could not comment because of the ongoing investigation.

noreilly@thespec.com

905-526-3199

another family traumatized by CAS

2010-09-22T15:55:00.000-07:00

http://www.thespec.com/news/local/article/260341--man-on-run-shot-by-police

Man on run shot by police

POLICE SHOOTING. Police investigate an incident on Cranbrook Dr. on Hamilton's west mountain Tuesday afternoon. A man was sent to hospital with non life threatening injuries after a foot chase by police. the SIU is now investigating.

Barry Gray/The Hamilton Spectator Source: The Hamilton Spectator
Nicole O’Reilly

September 22, 2010

HAMILTON SPECTATOR

Ontario’s police watchdog is investigating how a man who allegedly brandished a knife and led police on a chase through a west Mountain neighbourhood ended up shot in front of his neighbour’s house.

Hamilton police were called to the scene on Cranbrook Drive around 12:45 p.m. yesterday to assist a local agency attending the man’s townhouse, near Garth Street and Garrow Drive, said Sergeant Terri-Lynn Collings.

The man had what witnesses described as a butcher’s knife and began to run around a small stretch of the neighbourhood, first passing R.A. Riddell Elementary School and then neighbours’ lawns.

He was shot by at least one Hamilton police officer across the street from his home, near Greendale Drive, Collings said.

He was taken to hospital with non life-threatening injuries.

The provincial Special Investigations Unit, which is called when someone is seriously injured in an incident with police, was on the scene yesterday afternoon.
A witness who asked that her name not be used said she heard a commotion and came outside to see a neighbour, who was wearing a tan jacket and a grey and black hat, running around with a giant knife — trailed by several police officers.

She started to back up slowly into her house when the man, aged about 30, ran up her driveway and across her lawn, she said.

Fearing he would run up to her house, she jumped in her car.

It appeared the man was Tasered, but he kept going, she said.

Then he tripped and an officer struck him with a baton, but he kept going. As he was running away, she said, she saw an officer raise a gun. She heard a pop, smelled gun powder and saw the man go down.

But he got back up again and ran inside a neighbour’s house, she said. Police stopped him inside the house.

By the time EMS had responded a crowd had gathered.

Holly Chalmers, who lives in the same cluster of townhouses, said she saw the man being taken on a stretcher from the home.

He was talking and seemed fine, “like he hadn’t been shot,” except for a blood-soaked bandage on his side, she said.

He was well-known in the area, as a guy often out walking his brown labrador.
One man, who said he was good friends with him, said he couldn’t understand why the man would have brandished a knife.

Collings said no one remained in the man’s home during the chase or shooting.
The incident, though brief, shut down parts of Cranbrook and Greendale drives into the night.

Police tape originally blocked in R.A Riddell School, but was soon moved to allow parents and students access in and out of the building. The Hamilton Wentworth District School Board had the school under a “hold and secure” response between 1:30 p.m. and 3:05 p.m., said school board spokesperson Jackie Penman.

The normally busy street became full of concerned parents as school ended.

Sandy Hagle, who lives across the street from the school and has three children who attend it, said she was nervous when she saw all the police and caution tape.
Her senior kindergarten-aged son was at home with her, but her other two children remained in school. She said police told her the school was safe and to go back inside.

The investigation is ongoing.

noreilly@thespec.com
905-526-3199

September 21, DAY 2007

2010-09-21T09:28:00.000-07:00

I am officially 42 years old now.

I celebrated my birthday on September 10th, and I got a lot of well wishes from friends and family.

I haven’t posted much on my blog this month. Things have been hectic, cleaning and getting ready for fall and the winter.

We are packing in the garage sale stuff for the season.

I am still doing advocacy and research regarding Children’s Aid Society issues on a daily basis.

I figured I would pop in and say hello and also to say that I am going to do a poem which I haven’t written in a long time for Day 2010.

Stay tuned.

We are here to protect children and families from the Childrens Aid Society
Thank you for your support!!

DAY 1991

2010-09-05T11:41:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy week. We raised over $800 dollars for Child Assist Services by having the garage sale.

This weekend was a washout as it has rained and has been very cold. It will take me this afternoon to do the clean up to get ready for one tomorrow morning and everything must go.

I can’t believe the summer is gone and September is here already. Where does the time go?

I will be marking a milestone of 2000 days of writing in my diary next week. I will have to write a synopsis or memory poem for the last 2000 days.

I’m setting up and organizing a few more blogs for Ed and hoping to get more issues online regarding poverty, homelessness, immigration, and other relevant issues in the city of Hamilton.

I am hoping a family reunion takes place between my step daughter Jackie and her estranged daughter Jauna, who now has a baby boy that is almost 5 months old. This makes me a great grandmother at my age.

I have spent most of my time organizing my house and getting ready for fall. I have to put the storm windows back on before October when the winds start howling and blowing.

I will be attending a few rallies in support of Ombudsman oversight in the coming months and I am starting to organize for the Grape Expectations rally in November.

We are here to protect children and families from the Children's Aid Society
Thank you for your support

DAY 1980

2010-08-25T13:06:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe I have not written in my diary for a month. The summer is almost gone. We had a few garage sales and we are going to have one or two before my birthday on September 10, 2010. I will be turning 42 years old. It has been a busy summer of, advocacy and trying to get by day by day.

Grandpa/Dad got an infection in his hand so a nurse has been coming in first on a daily basis, for a month and then 3 times a week.

Linda Plourde of Protecting Canadian Children is hosting an event on November 5, 2010. I will post the letter and information that I received regarding the Summit on CAS groups across Canada and Ontario.

I see that Vinny and Paige were in town for the week. It was too bad that they didn't get a chance to see us while they were in Hamilton. I still think about them daily and that is why I still write in my diary.

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Alfredine (Linda) Plourde
12 Chester Road
Stoney Creek, Ontario
L8E 1X6
(905) 594-9973 / cell: 905-906-9973
E-mail: protectingcanadianchildren@hotmail.com
www.protectingcanadianchildren.ca

August 20, 2010

Dear Family, Friends & Neighbours:

As most of you know, Canada has been my classroom for a few years now for the vision of what I could do for my country! My life could have taken a different limited direction. As it is, I’ve made some progress since I finished my book. My biggest fight is that I cannot accept the amount of children dying in foster care.

Today, I am writing to all of you because the most vulnerable children in foster care under the supervision of Children’s Aid/The Catholic Children’s Aid Societies need your help. Through the following statistics, these children are communicating with us from beyond the grave. In Ontario alone, we have:

• 2006 ~ 83 • 2007 ~ 90 • 2008 ~ 105

• 2009 ~ 120 (8 in Hamilton)

Total: 398 children unseen and invisible to the public eyes.

This is one of the most devastating experiences that a parent can go through. This is only made worse when these deaths could and should have been prevented. Together, we can reduce this number for 2011, I say 2011 because it is too late for 2010.

I emphasize that not all foster parents are bad - I know we have some excellent foster parents. We are going after the bad ones. The numbers speak for themselves.

I would like to inform you about the upcoming conference I am hosting here in Hamilton. Here are the details:

Summit on Connecting for Change on Family Preservation and a rally
on Friday, November 5th , 2010.
Location: Renaissance Banquet Centre
2289 Barton Street East
Hamilton, Ontario
Time: 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Rally: 2: P.M. outside
$40.00 (registration and lunch)

This will be a big event, with media attention. You will meet, in person, a former foster child speak about how as a six year old, who witnessed his brother being murdered by the foster mom, suffering a broken arm in the process of trying to protect him. Ten months prior to this event, another child died while in the care of these same foster parents. Another family was told by a social worker to give up the rights of their child who was born with a disability, in order to receive the proper care for the child. They trusted the authority of this agency only to witness their child being neglected, abused and ultimately die while under Ministry direction. Social workers, Directors of the agencies, lawyers, Police, Ombudsman, Office of the Child Advocate, the Premier, the Prime Minister of Canada and the Governor General were all made aware of the evidence but turned a blind eye to it deflecting to other parties. The foster home remains open. At least, three children are known to have died in the care of this particular foster placement and yet no charges have ever been laid.
You will meet a father from Australia that will travel to let you know how his son was treated in foster care, and died. It is worldwide epidemic, and the only way we can stop this is by getting together.

There are so many stories like this to tell. Members from the families noted above will be attending our Conference and you have an opportunity to learn more. Regular updates will at www.protectingcanadianchildren.ca . Canadians have the right to know and understand what is really being done “in the best interest of the child.

Today, I am calling on all of you – family, friends, and neighbours – so that we all work in concert to reverse the epidemic of murdered children that has been happening for decades, and we are depending on a strong public education campaign to instil in people in the government or private institutions that abusing, neglecting, and in some cases deaths occur is not acceptable. I am sending this letter to some very special people. I am inviting all of you to join us on November 5th to help support this cause. I am only asking for one day of your life, I know if you can you will. You may save children’s lives.

If any of you are able to assist with the preparations for this event, such as selling tickets or promotion, please let me know. If you would like to invite others to attend, please contact me and I will get the tickets to you. If it were possible to collect the money in advance, that would be most beneficial to me.

I would like to reserve the best tables for my family and friends. If you plan to attend the Conference, please let me know as soon as possible so I can reserve your tables.

Please devote one day for the children and your country for higher principles standards, accountability and transparency. These kinds of behaviours do not belong in our good country!

If anyone wishes to participate or want to help as a sponsor, please feel free to call me.

Very sincerely yours,

Alfredine (Linda ) Plourde

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Stay tuned for updates and plans that are underway for the Grape Expectations Event that will take place on November 1, 2010

We are here to protect children and families from the Children's Aid Society!!
Thank you for your support

Dr. Charles Smiths victims and compensation

2010-08-10T22:23:00.000-07:00

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/846046--province-to-compensate-victims-of-dr-charles-smith

Province to compensate victims of Dr. Charles Smith
August 10, 2010
Theresa Boyle

The provincial government has announced compensation of up to $250,000 for victims of disgraced pathologist Dr. Charles Smith, but critics decry the amount as outrageously inadequate.

“I believe the amount falls way short of what some of them should receive for the hardship they have endured,” said lawyer David Robins, who represents some of the victims.

In announcing the compensation scheme Tuesday, Attorney General Chris Bentley apologized to the victims and said the payments recognize “some of the hurt, some of the pain and some of the anguish” they have endured.

He said $250,000 is “a lot of money,” but acknowledged some victims are likely entitled to more. He made a point of emphasizing that civil remedies are still available “for those who either don’t believe it (compensation) is enough or who don’t believe it reflects the circumstances of their case.”

Typically when governments grant compensation, they do so on the condition that victims drop any civil claims.

“You can think of one individual who could qualify for much more,” Bentley said. He was likely referring to William Mullins-Johnson, who spent 12 years in jail after being wrongfully convicted of sodomizing and murdering his 4-year-old niece on the basis of flawed pathology evidence.

Mullins-Johnson had previously filed a $13 million lawsuit and Robins said other victims are considering civil claims.

Mistakes made by Smith and his bosses in the coroners’ office led to a number of wrongful convictions and prosecutions. In addition to being jailed, some parents had surviving children temporarily or permanently removed from their custody.

Nineteen bungled cases were the subject of a public inquiry, led by Justice Stephen Goudge, the final report of which was released almost two years ago.

Those “directly” affected by the debacle are eligible for compensation of up to $250,000, children removed from their parents’ custody are entitled to up to $25,000 and other family members are entitled to up to $12,500.

Victims must apply for compensation and retired Justice Charles Misener has been appointed to determine who is eligible and for how much.

“This is an embarrassment,” scoffed NDP justice critic Peter Kormos. “This is a paltry, insignificant sum for people who have been imprisoned based on (flawed) evidence by an agent of the state of the government and it is outrageous.”

Conservative justice critic Ted Chudleigh said it’s “outrageous” that it took the government almost two years to develop an “inadequate” compensation scheme.

Robins said he has been in contact with victims who are surprised by the “modest amount” of compensation being offered.

“They have endured pain, suffering and humiliation and have been mislabeled as convicted offenders. There are issues of emotional and psychological trauma and significant loss of income,” he said.

Still, one victim contacted is happy with the compensation plan. Maurice Gagnon, of Sudbury, spent his $100,000 retirement fund to clear the name of his daughter, Lianne Thibeault, after she came under suspicion for the 1995 death of her 11-month-old son Nicholas.

Nicholas went into distress after hitting his head, but Smith wrongly determined the baby had suffered a “non-accidental” blow. While there was never enough evidence to charge Thibeault, child welfare authorities temporarily seized custody of her second child.

Gagnon said he just wants to close the book on this chapter of his life: “It takes too much God damned energy to stay mad at these people.”

He said he feels justice has been done because Smith, former chief coroner James Young and former deputy coroner Jim Cairns “will never work again. Nobody else will be affected by these people.”

CAS 8th Annual Grape Expectations gala

2010-08-05T19:11:00.000-07:00

The date has been set already for the Hamilton Children's Aid Society.

It would be great to see a crowd out on November 1, 2010 to support us in our rally/protest at Carmens Banquet Center. This will be our 6th year protesting the event

http://www.grapeexpectationsgala.com/

The Children's Aid Society of Hamilton will be hosting its 8th Annual Grape Expectations Gala in support of the Children's Fund on Monday, November 1, 2010 at Carmen's.

Be sure to visit the site frequently for updates of this year's event!

And a few statistics in the Annual Report of the Hamilton CAS 2009/2010.

Hamilton CAS cared for a total of 634 children throughout the year. 418 of these young people are in the permanent care of the Society.

Hamilton CAS has a staff of 378 full and part-time staff that serves a geographic area covering 1117 kilometers.

Hamilton CAS found adoptive families for 40 children whose adoptions were finalized over the past year.

STAY tuned for further updates on my blog and on facebook.

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We are here to support children and families against the Childrens Aid Society.
Thank you for your support.

Hamilton CAS and 10 new treatment foster homes

2010-07-28T09:40:00.000-07:00

http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/815468

CAS move to open foster homes a win-win for all

Denise Davy
The Hamilton Spectator

(Jul 28, 2010)
The Hamilton Children's Aid Society has developed its own residential program that keeps children closer to home and saved the agency millions of dollars.
The Hamilton CAS opened 10 treatment foster homes over the last five years for children who are in care.

The move reduced the need to send children to higher-priced homes and also allowed the CAS to keep more children in the community.

Children were routinely being transported to homes outside of Hamilton when group homes here filled up.

While children's aid societies across the province are struggling with funding shortfalls, the move saved the agency close to $4 million over the last three years.
Dominic Verticchio, executive director of the CAS who developed the plan, said their treatment foster homes operate at about half the cost of the others, which average around $300 per day.

Verticchio said the group home costs were a huge expense with 50 per cent of the agency's budget going to cover costs.

The homes are all in the community and are purchased by the CAS. Foster parents are hired to come live with the children. There are four kids in each home and foster parents have staff support.

"The key is that it's family modelled which we believe is a better model of care for children," said Verticchio. "They can stay in the community and we can stay afloat."
Hal Bushey, executive director of Choices, which runs residential treatment homes for children with developmental delays, said his agency saw an impact when the CAS opened its own foster homes because fewer children were sent to them. But he says he can see the advantage of them.

"It makes better sense to keep them with the CAS because they can manage the entire transition of supports and services," said Bushey.

Children's aid societies face special challenges around funding shortfalls because they're a government mandated service and have a statutory obligation to provide services to protect children.

They cannot cut, reduce or stop services or maintain wait lists, which is why so many have fallen into debt.

The Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies reported that 41 CAS's across Ontario currently face funding shortfalls totalling $54-million.

The Hamilton CAS has 650 children in care. They are either foster children or Crown wards who have been taken into care, typically due to parental abuse or neglect. Some children come into care because the parent is having difficulties or the child has challenging behaviours.

With only 223 foster homes, children are frequently sent to group foster homes. There is no time limit on how long a child can stay in the home and no age limit, although most are adolescent girls.

Even with the cost savings, Verticchio said the CAS must still watch its budget in view of all the funding cuts.

final submission in stoney creek children

2010-07-24T06:45:00.000-07:00

http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/813329

Defence plays down danger of basement filth TheSpec.com - Local - Defence plays down danger of basement filth

SPECIAL TO The Hamilton Spectator

(Jul 24, 2010)

One defence lawyer argues the conditions in the basement -- the one with the little boys' windowless bedroom that locked from the outside and the dead rats and the stench of feces smeared on the walls -- were really not so bad.

Another defence lawyer argues things were bad in the basement -- but that the children who lived in it were no worse for the wear.

A third defence lawyer, well, his legal aid contract was up, so he wasn't there to make final submissions on behalf of his client.

This is how the trial of a grandmother, a father and his girlfriend, accused of locking two small brothers, aged 2 and 5, in a squalid cellar room, slides toward its end: not with a bang, but a whimper.

Yesterday, during final submissions to Justice Bernd Zabel, lawyers for the accused gave their first clear view of what their defence strategy actually is. None of the defence lawyers called witnesses during the seven-day trial.

And their cross-examinations of police, social workers and children from the home seldom revealed anything new or different from what they had already testified to.

All three accused face two counts each of confinement, abandonment and failing to provide the necessaries of life. The grandmother is also charged with assault for allegedly yanking the toddler until he was airborne.

A publication ban prevents the accused from being named to protect the identities of the children.

Zabel will hand down his judgment in October. Meanwhile, the accused are free on bail.

"Different areas have different rules," began the final submission from Norm Williams, counsel for the father. Before he could go further, he was interrupted by Zabel.

"You're not going to tell me that in this house there are different rules upstairs and downstairs, are you?" the judge asked.

Indeed, that seemed to be the case, according to trial evidence. A number of children with bedrooms upstairs in the house lived in tidy, nice conditions. Downstairs, things were entirely different.

Undaunted, Williams went on to explain this is a rural home and the city dwellers who attended the house after one of the basement boys made a 911 call to police, were just not used to the country lifestyle. Rats are common in a country home, he said in response to two carcasses, traps and rat poison being found downstairs.

"Living on a farm with animals would precipitate rats and a different view than in the city of Hamilton," he said. "These children were not in danger in any manner."

He went on to say a hole the boys made in their wall with a coat hanger served as an exit and therefore they were not confined. And there was no proof the bare electrical wires hanging just above their bunk bed could injure them.

What several police officers described as blood, feces and urine found on the walls, door and bedding in the boys' room was never analyzed at the Centre of Forensic Science so there is no way of knowing for sure what the substances were, Williams said.

And the first police officer who responded to the 911 call, argued Williams, tainted the perception of the other officers who arrived afterward by forewarning them of the appalling condition of the basement. That created "a gang consensus of brutality toward these children," he said.

Peter Boushy, representing the girlfriend, who is the mother of the two boys in question, based his defence on the legal definitions of abandonment and failing to provide the necessaries of life. He argued the accused must actually endanger the life or be likely to cause the health of the complainants to be endangered permanently.

He then referred to a police electrician who testified he could not say what the chances were of the children being electrocuted by the exposed wires; a sergeant who testified he did not notice the boys were dirty; and a photo of an upstairs fridge stocked with food.

When Boushy was finished representing his own client, he stepped in to speak on behalf of the grandmother. Her lawyer had been retained through legal aid to represent her through examinations in chief and nothing more.

The submissions of assistant Crown attorney Todd Norman were a straightforward recap of the evidence of all those police officers and social workers who went into the house that day in April 2009 and all the children who were brought out.

Those witnesses who went in were "slapped in the face by the cold reality that the children were living in the unbearable conditions that they observed," he said.

Those who came out, as young as they were, painted a consistent and horrifying picture of the everyday life of the boys in the basement.

"To them, it was (the boys') room. The room was unremarkable to all those children. It was just a fact of life for all the children in the household ... They were routinely locked in that room."

Susan Clairmont's commentary appears regularly in The Spec. sclairmont@thespec.com

905-526-3539

Devon is in the news

2010-07-16T16:35:00.000-07:00

I got an email from Graham today...that both he and Devon would be on the CHCH Hamilton News tonight at 6pm and 11pm.

Here is the link and the text of the account regarding Devon.

http://chch.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=261:boy-at-battle-of-chemo-court-battle-looking-forward-to-future&catid=57:hamilton&Itemid=1

"The young Hamilton boy at the centre of a court battle, that forced him to have chemotherapy against his wishes, and the wishes of his family, is now doing fine.

It's a story CHCH News first brought you in 2008. Back then, we couldn't identify anyone in the case.

Now however, a court ordered ban on publication has been lifted. Scot Urquhart talked to the boy and his father about their story."

Childrens Aid Society commission

2010-07-08T14:34:00.000-07:00

http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2659330

Children's aid changes eyed

July 8, 2010
Posted By ELIZABETH BOWER , EXAMINER STAFF WRITER

If you want to know how Ontario's Grade 6 pupils are doing with reading skills, you can check the Education Quality and Accountability Office website.

Want to know the average emergency department wait time? Public websites also offer that information about the province's hospitals.

But if you want to find out how vulnerable children are faring in the Children's Aid Society agencies -- such as the average amount of time they spend in CAS care -- getting that information can be daunting, said Ene Underwood, chairwoman of the Commission to Promote Sustainable Child Welfare.

Underwood is part of the three-year commission, which is to release its final report in 2012, that's investigating how to make Ontario's child welfare system, including CAS agencies, more accountable, efficient and sustainable.

The final report could lead to more websites stats on CAS care, as well as merging CAS agencies to save on overhead and offer specialized care more equitably, Underwood said Wednesday in Peterborough after meeting with Kawartha-Haliburton Children's Aid Society staff to discuss ideas.

Merging CAS agencies would save money because, for example, there'd only be one executive director's salary and one human resources department, Underwood said.

But the "bigger reason" for such a move, she said, would be to ensure all children in need would have access to the same specialized services.

For example, one CAS agency may have an adoption support worker while another doesn't. Merging those agencies would mean people in a wider geographical area could access that worker, she said.

The commission is also investigating some funding formulas that may, inadvertently, stop people from practices that would help children, Underwood said.

Foster parents, for example, get paid a certain amount to care for children. Depending which CAS jurisdiction they're in, some foster parents who want to adopt those children may decide not to because it would stop the funding.

It's a matter of practicality, not greed, because often these children have special needs that require money for care, Underwood said.

The commission wants to see consistency across Ontario so that all people using CAS care have the same opportunities, Underwood said.

Some grandparents, for example, who have kinship care of their grandchildren get CAS funding while some don't, depending on their jurisdiction.

"Whether it's a grandma (raising her grandchildren) in Wingham or a grandma in Havelock, it should all be the same," Underwood said.

NOTE:The commission will also look at the system for people who have complaints against the CAS and will investigate ideas such as having the agencies be accountable to Ontario's ombudsman, said Ene Underwood,chairwoman of the Commission to Promote Sustainable Child Welfare....

The commission, established in November 2009, is made up of three people -- Underwood,Barry Lewis and Wendy Thomson....There are 53 CAS agencies in Ontario.

ebower@peterborough examiner.com
Article ID# 2659330

DAY 1931

2010-07-07T10:21:00.000-07:00

It has been a quiet two weeks.

We have finalized the move into our new home and office and are we doing a lot of landscaping and setting up all the rooms in the house. Finances have been tight but we are progressing slowly.

I’m hoping to put some money aside to go to the POW WOW this year in Port Perry next weekend of the 16-17th of July. We will see how that goes.

School is out for everyone and my friend and her 3 children have visited me a few times already.

I do have one success story; after one year of involvement with the CAS of Hamilton, they have decided to close the file for one of our clients.

Many visits with Child Protection workers, family courts and lawyers, have made the system a lot of money in their pockets but pain and hardship for this woman.

This only proves that the system has to be changed and for the client and not the CAS.

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Stay tuned for more details on our annual garage sale the 1st one of many to come. Our plan will be for the garage sale to be at the end of July. We are going to be selling alot of stuff everything from clothing to appliances, doors to furniture.

We are here to protect children and families from the Children's Aid Society.

Thank you for your support!!

final stop Windsor for the Ride for Accountability

2010-06-29T16:35:00.000-07:00

http://www.am800cklw.com/

I see that John Dunn has finished his ride and got some great coverage from Windsor Radio today...

2010-06-29 15:03:05

A travelling awareness campaign for children has made it's final stop in Windsor. Two Ontario men have joined together to call for an external accountability for the province's Children's Aid Societies. Don Lester is from Hamilton and has had dealings with CAS in the past, John Dunn is from Ottawa and was a foster child in the system.

Glad to see that you have made a dent in your ride for accountability. Safe travelling on your way back home to Ottawa.

We are here to protect children and families from the Children's Aid Society.

Thank you for your support

two men on a mission

2010-06-26T12:09:00.000-07:00

http://www.crosscanadarun4thechildren.com/

Equal Shared Parenting Private Members Bill, Bill C-422, that was introduced before Parliament on June 16th, 2009, by MP, Maurice Vellacott of Saskatoon

I have been following his progress as well and he is in Alberta now. Hes hoping to walk and run from BC to Newfoundland, from sea to shining sea.

You can check him out on his website and follow him on TWITTER as well.

http://twitter.com/72days4thekids

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John Dunn of the Foster Care Council of Canada will be arriving in Windsor Ontario either Monday or Tuesday. He will finish up his bike ride for Accountability of CAS' in Ontario. Good luck and good work John, keep up the pace and we are all proud of you.

We are here to protect Children and Families from the Children's Aid Society.
Thank you for your support!!

Accountability in CAS

2010-06-23T08:17:00.000-07:00

On Monday we organized a last minute protest, I invited a few people and Ed and I went to the Catholic Children’s Aid Society at King and Sanford here in Hamilton.

John Dunn from http://www.accountablecas.ca/ was at the other Hamilton Children’s Aid Society at Arrowsmith Road on his way through on his bike ride for accountability of the Children’s Aid Societies of this province. He met up with a few supporters as well and it was too bad that he didn’t attend our event.

We put up our signs, took lots of pictures and our small trusty bull horn came in handy to spew out the atrocities committed against our families and children under the CAS’ control. We stood out in the hot sun, and it was a good thing we had some shade. We were there for about 2 hours after we set up and walked around, took pictures, and talked to people as they walked by and read our signs.

Single mothers, fathers and even CCAS workers talked to us. A lot of people have had CAS/CCAS in their lives and are more than willing to share their pain and stories of what they have done to their families.

One CCAS worker came out and talked on the phone to call the police, but we stood our ground. The Police didn’t show up and we were peaceful and did not block pedestrian traffic. I will post some pictures on Face book.

I still think of Vinny and Paige every day. They are still in my thoughts and on my mind daily and that is why I still count and do my diary daily and weekly.

weekly update

2010-06-18T13:33:00.000-07:00

I have not posted much as I have moved my home and office to a new location. I am still located on the mountain in Hamilton and moved about 4 houses away from my old home. This is not the place to advertise my address, but it has taken us a week to move or more. So I have been really busy.

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I did get a chance to see that John Dunn's Ride for Accountability is making great progress. I follow his updates on Twitter and he is riding his bike for a great cause of making CAS accountable in this province.
http://www.accountablecas.ca/

John Dunn is in Hamilton until Wednesday and we are hoping to meet up with him at the Hamilton Catholic Children's Aid Society either Monday or Tuesday. I will update my blog when we confirm the time with peoples working schedules etc...

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The Paediatric Death review committee has released is 2010 report. It confirms that 120 children died as a result of Children's Aid Society involvement in Ontario. I have confirmed through the report that 8 children died in Hamilton while either in care or under the Supervision of the Hamilton Children's Aid Society. A copy is not yet available on the website of the Chief Coroner but I did obtain a copy via email, if anyone would like a copy I can email it to you. I will provide a link to the report when the website makes it available.

We are here to support families and children from the Children's Aid Society.

Thank you for your support!!!

more testimony in the house of horrors

2010-06-10T13:06:00.000-07:00

http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/784853

http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/785683

House of horrors update

2010-06-07T08:18:00.000-07:00

http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/783177

Children's aid worker 'went over and above expectations'

Danielle Wong
The Hamilton Spectator

(Jun 7, 2010)

The Hamilton Children's Aid Society is "confident" the worker who visited a Stoney Creek house hours before police rescued two boys from its filthy basement did "everything she needed to do."

In fact, the child protection worker "went over and above expectations" with the information she was given, said CAS executive director, Dominic Verticchio.
Jennifer Robinson testified Friday she found nothing amiss when she visited the Stoney Creek home on a Thursday morning in April last year.

Robinson spent two hours in the house and had gone down to the basement where the boys, ages two and five, were. She had spoken with their mother, who is now charged.
A couple of hours later, police responded to an unknown 911 call from the home and found the two filthy boys living in a basement with feces smeared walls, urine-soaked bunk beds, dead rats and hanging electrical wires.

Police described a putrid smell coming from what one called a "house of horrors."
A grandmother, her son and his fiancee are on trial for two counts each of confinement, abandonment and failing to provide the necessaries of life. The grandmother is also charged with assault for allegedly yanking the toddler up off the ground.

Robinson is still a child protection worker with the CAS. She has been a social worker for eight years, five of which have been with the local CAS.

Robinson, who already knew the family from having their file from September 2007 to February 2008, testified she didn't smell anything foul because of a stuffy nose.
Verticchio, who would not make Robinson available to be interviewed by The Spectator, said he understood there was a barn behind or near the house. "There was no issue with what she saw and what she smelled given the circumstances," he said in a phone interview Friday night.

In her testimony, Robinson said the father told her the woman downstairs with the children stayed at the house sometimes.

Robinson also did not take information that the downstairs family were occasional guests at face value, Verticchio said, adding the worker had checked their provincial database system to see whether the mother and partner had been in contact with any other children's aid society across the province.

"This is how responsible a professional she is ... It is always easier to review history in hindsight and be able to cast judgment on the performance of a staff," Verticchio wrote in an e-mail to The Spectator over the weekend.
The sergeant on the scene at the Stoney Creek house last year called the Catholic Children's Aid Society.

The Catholic CAS spokesperson, David Shea, would not comment Saturday about how the case was handled because it was before the court.

"(Robinson) is a seasoned worker and she is a well-respected member of our staff and I have the greatest respect for her," Verticchio said Saturday, adding the CAS would not be taking followup steps regarding the employee.

"The worker did all that was expected of her and I would not expect to change exactly what her practices were," he said.

dawong@thespec.com
905-526-2468
With files from Susan Clairmont

the house of horrors

2010-06-02T16:51:00.000-07:00

http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/780022

Inside the 'house of horrors'
Small boys lived amid filth, feces in Stoney Creek basement, court told

Susan Clairmont
The Hamilton Spectator

(Jun 2, 2010)

The children upstairs lived in bright, clean rooms with colourful bedding and posters on the walls.

The two small boys in the basement lived in a room with no lights. With filthy bedding and torn mattresses. With feces smeared on the walls. Garbage littered across the concrete floor. Electrical wires within reach. And dead rats nearby. With a smell so rancid, police who rescued the children thought they would find a human corpse.

Many children lived in this house in Stoney Creek.

The upstairs children were well cared for. The downstairs children were not.
On the opening day of a trial to determine if a grandmother, her son and his fiancee neglected the fiancee's five-year-old son and his two-year-old brother, the focus was on the outwardly pleasant Stoney Creek home.

And the stunning contrast between life upstairs and life in the basement.
"It was a house of horrors," testified Constable Theresa Bozzo-Reid, the second officer called to the scene of an "unknown 911 call."

"Upstairs was a very nice, well-kept, European-style home," Bozzo-Reid told the court. "Downstairs it was awful. Awful to think someone had been living in it."
Upstairs, the fridge was full of food. Religious paintings hung on the walls. The bathroom sparkled.

The accused cannot be named because of a publication ban protecting the identities of the young victims. Each accused was dressed entirely in black yesterday. They sat shoulder to shoulder in the front row of the courtroom. All are free on bail.

All three are charged with two counts of confinement, two counts of abandonment and two counts of failing to provide the necessities of life. The grandmother is additionally charged with one count of assault for allegedly grabbing the toddler so hard his feet left the floor. Court records indicate the children may have been living in the basement for five months.

In the midst of the court proceedings, Justice Bernd Zabel reprimanded the male accused for smiling and smirking.

"He appears to find this amusing," Zabel admonished. "I've been watching him."
At the time of the arrests, the Children's Aid Society of Hamilton admitted to The Spectator that one of their social workers was in the basement the day before police discovered the children living in squalor. The worker was talking to the mother, who now faces charges. The worker saw nothing and suspected nothing, according to the CAS.

It was a Thursday afternoon in April last year when the mysterious 911 call came from the house.

Constable Cleon Williamson went to the door, knocked and was greeted by the grandmother. She knew nothing of the phone call.

"I asked her if there was any other person in the house and her eyes went wide," he testified.

He followed her to the top of the basement stairs. She was shouting 'Who called 911? Look what you've done.'

"A small boy appeared at the bottom of the stairs," Williamson testified. The five-year-old.

Williamson started down.

"There was a very strong odour that you'd have to smell to believe. The only time I ever smelled something like that was when I went to a decomposing body."

There were flagons of alcohol at the bottom of the steps, power tools on the ground, electric cables hanging from the ceiling and dog feces on the floor. There was a rat trap on the stairs, droppings on the floor and two dead rats in the laundry room. In what appeared to be an adult's bedroom, there were large pop bottles full of what Williamson believed to be urine, along with a beer stein overflowing with mouldy cigarette butts and bottles of medication.

The grandmother followed the officer downstairs, then brushed past him to a small room.

"Look what you've done," she screamed, according to the officer's testimony.
"She reached into the room and in the bottom corner was a boy. She reefed him out of there. He was airborne for a time."

That was the two-year-old. In his pajamas. He had a cordless phone in his hand. "He was a scared little boy," said Williamson.

Photo exhibits show the room had a wooden latch on the outside of the door. There was no handle on the inside of the door, but there was a child's red hand print. The third officer at the scene testified he thought the print was made in blood.

The windowless room contained urine-soaked bunk beds, according to officers' testimony.

Williamson said he had to go outdoors more than once to recover from the stench.
Bringing the children upstairs, Bozzo-Reid cared for them until CAS arrived and removed them from the home. She watched them devour peanut butter and jam sandwiches, milk and cookies.

"Both of them were filthy. Absolutely filthy," she testified. "But they were still happy, very loving boys."

Susan Clairmont's commentary appears regularly in The Spectator. sclairmont@thespec.com 905-526-3539

5 more years

2010-06-01T16:58:00.000-07:00

http://www.thespec.com/News/BreakingNews/article/779760

Embattled ombudsman Marin reappointed for five years

Canadian Press

TORONTO — Ontario’s Liberal government has backed down on its attempt to appoint a new ombudsman and has handed André Marin another five-year term.

Marin had been the subject of a smear campaign by unnamed Liberals after the government announced it wanted a new process for hiring the ombudsman and the privacy and environmental commissioners.

The existing privacy and environmental commissioners were quickly reappointed, but Marin was left dangling with just a six-month contract extension.

The opposition parties made it clear they wanted to reappoint Marin, but the Liberals kept insisting they wanted to interview more prospective candidates.
After he was forced to twice interview for his job, the Liberals agreed today to let Marin serve another five years as ombudsman.

Premier Dalton McGuinty at one point had to tell Liberals to back off their criticisms of Marin, and said the ombudsman had just been doing his job of pointing out government faults.

more interesting news today

2010-05-31T10:19:00.001-07:00

I was reading the Hamilton Spectator today and lets just say I have always been a fan of the FONZ/Henry Winkler while growing up with Happy Days.

I came across an article:

http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/778796

Now how does this relate to Children's Aid Society in Canada?

It seems as though the FONZ was instrumental in setting up an organization called the Children's Action Network, based out of Los Angeles, California USA. which deals with adoptions in the USA. They have a lot of links to children that want to be adopted by families.

"CAN is currently dedicated to finding homes for the more than 114,000 children in
the United States who are waiting for an adoptive
family and improving outcomes for the more than 500,000 children in foster care."

http://www.childrensactionnetwork.org/NAD2005_ResearchReport.pdf

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I think it is time to start developing a list of famous actors or actresses that support the Children's Aid Societies/Child Protection Services in the USA and Canada. So far I have three and the list will grow daily. Dr. Phil, yes he is a proud supporter of child advocates within the family court system in the USA ( I do question his support for CAS/CPS), Al Pacino who used to be one of my favorite actors, is a supporter of the CPS system and now the FONZ.

I have been busy the month of May and now we are going into June.

Advocacy and phone calls are a daily part of my life talking to people and families affected by the Children's Aid Society at the crises level and the day to day barriers of existing financially on a substandard level of income such as Ontario Works and Ontario Disability.

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We are here to protect children and families from the Children's Aid Society!!
Thank you for your support.

news today

2010-05-19T14:36:00.000-07:00

http://whenthekidstakeoverthekingdom.wordpress.com/2010/05/17/re-protest-at-baywellesley-monday-may-17th-vs-ontario-childrens-aid-society/

Its great to see other bloggers posting about rallies in the Province of Ontario, specifically the rally on May 17, 2010. Children's Aid Society needs to be held accountable for their actions. I applaud all those who attended the rally to hold the government responsible for their actions in regards to child protection and their lack thereof, by not appointing the Ombudsman to have oversight of the CASes in Ontario.

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On a more personal note, I am still involved in advocacy and dealing with families in crises with the CAS in Hamilton.

One specific case with no names identifying the family suggests the total corruption and misappropriation of funds of the Hamilton Children's Aid Society in dealing with this family. Their lack of understanding in dealing with domestic violence situations by giving personal identifiable addresses to perpetrators, and putting this family at future risk of harm.

Going through the motions of the complaint process of the Children's Aid Society will only provide us with the tools to create further awareness of domestic violence, the child protection system and the systemic flaws within this system. Families are destroyed, children are hurt and apprehended all for a bigger budget and paycheck. There is no accountability and no child protection worker can be charged with bad faith unless you can prove it.

As the Child and Family Services Act states:

Protection from personal liability
(14) No action shall be instituted against a peace officer or child protection worker for any act done in good faith in the execution or intended execution of that person’s duty under this section or for an alleged neglect or default in the execution in good faith of that duty. R.S.O. 1990, c. C.11, s. 40 (14).

This family's situation will only prove the bad faith that has been inflicted by the Society workers, the Society agency and the province of Ontario.

Stay tuned for more details on this specific case, that has been ongoing for over a year.

Children's Aid Society does not help children they destroy families.

Most newspapers and media outlets will not report the news, they make the news. Child Protection laws are in place to protect the CAS, and yet they say it is to protect the children. They cannot print the specific case or family, only the flaws within the system and what went wrong. How many children died in foster care? How many child protection agencies need more funding this year? These are only a few questions that are asked and answered in the media.

This is basically a rambling of thoughts and information that I wanted to share today, to let you know that I remain a fighter of injustice against the Children's Aid Societies in this Province. I may not attend a lot of rallies, but I am in the trenches dealing with the crises situations of CAS and their infliction upon families.

Ombudsman under attack

2010-05-15T14:48:00.000-07:00

http://www.thespec.com/News/BreakingNews/article/770154

Premier insists not trying to oust ombudsman TheSpec.com - BreakingNews - Premier insists not trying to oust ombudsman

The Canadian Press
COLLINGWOOD — Premier Dalton McGuinty is dismissing reports that his government is trying to oust one of its most outspoken critics — ombudsman Andre Marin.

McGuinty expressed surprise with reports that his governing Liberals are anxious to replace Marin with former Liberal MP Susan Whelan and have launched a campaign to discredit him.

“I think he’s been very thorough. I think that he has been very helpful,” McGuinty said Saturday at a party policy conference in Collingwood.

“Andre’s been very effective at pointing out shortcomings. I think also, if you check the record, we’ve really made sincere efforts to try to make improvements on the basis of his recommendations.”

Marin, who is seeking a second term as ombudsman after the government decided not to renew his contract, will have a shot at the job along with other applicants, McGuinty added.

“I just think these jobs are highly sought after, I think there are a number of people who generally express an interest in these kinds of things, and I think the fair thing to do is to create an opportunity for openness,” he said.

Despite the premier’s diplomatic tone, the relationship between Marin and the governing Liberals has been fraught with tension over the years.

Marin openly feuded with former health minister David Caplan over public funding of the cancer drug Avastin, and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. has yet to fully recover from Marin’s devastating report on insider lottery wins.

And now there are reports of Liberal grumblings about Marin’s expenses, including complaints that he’s claiming frequent travel to his Ottawa home and made extensive renovations to his new office.

There are also reports that two human rights complaints have been filed against the Ombudsman’s office.

Marin — whose work has delivered more than a few bare-knuckled blows to the Liberals — is seeking a second term after the government decided to open up his job and two other watchdog positions to a competition.

An all-party committee has already recommended that environmental commissioner Gord Miller continue in his role, and integrity commissioner Lynn Morrison will also continue her job.

Marin’s five-year contract expired March 31, but he was given a six-month extension while an all-party committee mulls its decision.

Hamilton conference-Protecting Canadian Children

2010-05-12T09:37:00.000-07:00

Date: Saturday June 19, 2010, 9:00 - 5:00
Location: Renaissance Banquet Centre
2289 Barton Street East
Hamilton, Ontario
---------------------------------------------------------

To: All activists

From: Protecting Canadian Children and
Alfredine (Linda) Plourde

I am writing to you at this time to invite you to the first critical conference hosted by Protecting Canadian Children, and Cathereine Frei. We want to bring the best of caring and compassionate activists together in the hopes of being able to create change for children in Canada. This conference is extremely important for all of us: families, caregivers and the people caring for their children to review the alarming conduct of Children’s Aid Societies, Family Courts, and Ontario Institutions.

The aim is to bring people together and raise much needed public awareness. We need to create a plan so that we can advance and establish what steps to take in the coming months. I would like to emphasize the importance of your participation; your contribution is most needed.

I would love to offer this conference for free but Protecting Canadian Children has no sponsor or the resources. The cost for the day includes registration fee of $25.00 and a hot lunch is: $50.00.

All activists will be offered their own display tables to promote the individual aspects of their work, which would include pamphlets, videos and books. Everyone should be well informed about their own topic and back it up with evidence. For example, when we introduce John Dunn, he will speak particularly about his area of expertise regarding what it was like to grow up in foster care under the supervision of Children’s Aid.

Date: Saturday June 19, 2010, 9:00 - 5:00
Location: Renaissance Banquet Centre
2289 Barton Street East
Hamilton, Ontario

To register please call: Linda at; protectingcanadianchildren@hotmail.com or Catherine @ 519-954-1912

RSVP at soon as possible, table are limited

Look forward to "seeing" you! Linda & Catherine

www.protectingcanadianchildren.ca

Happy Mothers Day 2010

2010-05-08T14:42:00.000-07:00

The last time I saw my mother was on July 5, 1988. I was visiting her home with her mom my Gran in Burliegh Falls, ON with my daughter Candice who was only 1 1/2 years old at the time. Little did I know at that time that it would be the last week we would spend together on this earth. We went swimming and fishing, we sat on the front porch watching the cars go by. We smoked cigarettes, and had a barbeque and took walks in the bush by the beaver dam. We roasted marshmallows, and complained about the black flies and mosquitoes that seemed to bite everyone but me and Mom. That week when I visited there were four generations of women. My Gran (RIP since 2005), my mom, me and my daughter.

She was mom. She was unique. She was special, she was cool. But she was sad, she had an aching heart and she had a troubled spirit the whole time I was a child.

She had her struggles with alcohol and drugs, but she was everyone's friend.

She helped out, and always said her peace if she didn't like you, which wasn't very often. I have a few of her quirks and traits and laugh and shed a tear when I remember her on Mother's Day.

On July 8, 1988, she left this world and it was empty without her. Mom was gone. She was only 46. I love you Mom.

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I would like to wish all my 7 step children Annette, Jackie, Corey, Todd, Connie Toni and Vinny and my only birth daughter Candice a Happy Mothers Day and don't forget your special someone on their special Mother's Day. (RIP Bradley 1997 age 33)

I don't want forget my 11 grandchildren, Christopher, Tiffany,and Deja, Paige and Zack, Nathan, Brandon and Riley, Jayden and Jauna, and Josh.

Days come and go and I have to reflect back on the past today. Even though I am not with you all I can still remember the good times we all had together.

It is Mothers Day on Sunday so I wanted to post a poem that I wrote awhile ago.

A mother’s love

Whether you are born from the womb
Whether you are brought into the fold
A mother’s love is all you will need.

She will wipe away your tear
She will take away whatever you fear.
She will tuck you in and say a prayer.
She will watch you sleep.
She will worry about where you are.
A mother’s love is always near.

Whether she is with you everyday.
Whether she is just a memory.
Whether she is gone to heaven,
She is with you always in your heart.
That crying in the night,
A mother’s love will always hear.

Whether you are far away,
Or you are with her 24 hours a day.
She will always think of you.
She will always wonder why.
Why she is not with them
Why hasn’t she gotten a call?
A mother’s love will not fall.

Celebrate the days together
They must be cherished.
When a child cries or wants to scream
Or they want that candy for breakfast.
Or they just need that ice cream.
A mother’s love will be there
Whatever the weather.

Written by Mary Lou Janiga on May 12, 2007 at 5:31pm

DAY 1867

2010-05-04T17:54:00.000-07:00

Not much goes on in my life besides phone calls, advocacy and day to day living, but I figured I had better come in and post my week.

Grandpa/Dad was in the hospital for his throat for 5 days so it was very lonely at home without him. He has to go to the doctors this week for test results.

The weather has been beautiful and sunny. We have gotten a few rain storms here and there but summer won’t be too far away.

Mother’s day is this weekend. I will try to spend it out and about doing stuff with Grandpa/Dad and maybe go to the Royal Botanical Gardens for something different.

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Graham and Devon are holding a garage sale on May 29, 2010 at their home. It would be great to come out and say hello to Devon and support the sale. There is a facebook page set up to promote the sale for him.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=114666231904017

We are here to support children and families from the Children's Aid Society.
Thank you for your support!!

DAY 1859

2010-04-26T18:30:00.000-07:00

I had a busy week of travelling downtown and doing my usual advocacy work with clients and friends. I met with Linda Plourde of Protecting Canadian Children to discuss what is happening in the city of Hamilton and the Province of Ontario regarding CAS issues and problems.

you can see her website at http://www.protectingcanadianchildren.ca

Linda Plourde was interviewed on For the Record at Cable 14 in Hamilton on April 26, 2010. It airs every hour on the hour for those that subscribe to Cogeco, Shaw or The Source Cable in Hamilton. I did tape it for future reference and I will check back with Cable 14 for a copy of this taping.

http://www.cable14.com/mam/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=40&Itemid=88

Grandpa/Dad still thinks of you both Vinny and Paige on a daily basis. We still miss you and love you and hope someday we will see you again.

Our organization Child Assist Services is setting up a Children’s Aid Society Awareness night. The place is still undetermined along with the date as I am still scouting out locations here in Hamilton for people to meet to discuss CAS issues in the community and how we can come together as a community to assist other parents and families in their struggles against the Children’s Aid Society.

Please stay tuned for details as I will be setting up a Face book page along with posting the time and event date and location on my blog here.

upcoming events

2010-04-19T13:19:00.000-07:00

April 19, 2010 DAY 1852
Another busy week in the trenches of advocacy and fighting injustice in Ontario is all in a day’s work for me. I went to court once, had a few business meetings, attended several appointments to advocate for clients and friends. I did get some groceries over the weekend and spent a quiet weekend at home while it rained and snowed.

There are two things that I wanted to highlight in my blog this week. There are presently two events that are taking place on June 1, 2010.

http://www.accountablecas.ca/

On June 1, 2010 John Dunn will be riding his bicycle from Ottawa to Windsor, Ontario. This event will be updated on Twitter and you can follow him on his ride to Ottawa. As his website states "Ride for Accountability of Children's Aid Societies and the Ministry of Children and Youth Services".

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http://www.crosscanadarunforthechildren.com/index.htm
On June 1, 2010 there will be a cross country marathon of running that will be done by DAVE NASH. I found his website on Face book and wanted to promote it on my blog to highlight the injustices that families face daily in the Family court system.

"For a Country that prides itself on being a Nation of Peace Keepers, why is it that Canada has a so-called "Justice" System in place that asks families, during one of the most difficult times in their lives, to go to war with one another over their children? Aren't we as Canadians better than this???" - David Nash

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I will keep you all updated on the events that are taking place so stay tuned for more details as they become available to me.

We are here to protect children and families from the Children's Aid Society.
Thank you for your support!!

DAY 1845

2010-04-12T15:05:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy week.

We had appointments all week with various agencies and clients.

We did a lot of home stuff and sorted out our office and made more contacts with various social agencies in the community at large.

It was a busy day today as I attended the court house, had to go visit a few clients, I visited an old neighbor on Wellington Street and spent most of my day talking to strangers on buses and complaining about the heat.

It was warm and sunny outside today.

The court house area was deserted and I could not find Graham anywhere. They were in and out pretty fast in court so that is why I missed him. I did get word back from Graham when I got home this afternoon, the Children's Aid Society of Hamilton has removed their agency from the case and they will be sending them a closing letter and closing the file in June of 2010. There will be no more court appearances for the family, thank goodness.

There is no longer a media or publication ban against Devon or Graham and they are free to do the alternative therapy for Devon.

And that was my day in a nutshell.

We are here to protect children and families from the Childrens Aid Society
Thank you for your support!!

DAY 1838

2010-04-07T11:48:00.000-07:00

It was a long weekend of Easter. My friend Joe had a heart attack on Thursday and we all had made plans before the holidays to get together for turkey dinner. He got out of the hospital yesterday thank goodness. I had a few friends come over for a visit on Good Friday and Easter Sunday for an hour or so. I am still active with clients and their issues dealing with the Family courts, and with both the Catholic Children's Aid Society and the Protestant Children’s Aid Society.

I went to the doctor’s the other day as well for my thyroid. I am cutting back on smoking for sure. I was told to stop taking all my thyroid medications and come back and see the Dr on May 6th, 2010. I gained 7 pounds that is not good. It has been a busy week for sure. I just wanted to touch base and let you know that the rally is still a go ahead on Monday April 12, 2010. I have not blogged much this week. This is just a small update of what has been going on in our advocacy life.

I update my statuses on Facebook and what is happening daily so you can also catch me there as well. We are in for some bad storms and a lot of rain this week.

we are here to protect children and families from the Children's Aid Society!!
Thank you for your support!!

the final countdown

2010-04-01T18:51:00.000-07:00

On April 12, 2010 from 9:30am to 12pm Please plan to attend the family court house at 55 Main St West Hamilton, ON outside and support Graham, Paula and Devon and CAS' removal from their case. This will be two fold as you can also come out and support Bill 93. Get Ombudsman oversight for our Children's Aid Societies of this Province. I will be handing out petitions and holding signs. I want to be there for Devon and his family.

I set up a facebook rally site to see who would like to attend and get involved

http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=109538449068430&ref=mf

we are here to protect children and families from the Children's Aid Society
Thank you for your support

March 31, 2010 DAY 1833

2010-03-31T11:07:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy few days. The weather is changing yet again so we are soaking up the warmer weather and are being annoyed by lady bugs that have come out of hibernation and the grass is turning greener.

Our anniversary seemed to come and go and it was a bit depressing and sad. I have been working on the video but it’s a tedious process. I have been doing a lot of advocacy and attending meetings and going downtown a lot.

I wanted to touch base and send March out before posting again in April as the start of a new month. This year is going by really fast so far.

Easter weekend is approaching. I will be doing my usual ritual of watching the Ten Commandments like old faithful every year. I have to get a few Easter presents for a few clients and we are having our turkey dinner at home with a few friends on Saturday. My week and weekend is planned already in advance.

Connie (Ed’s oldest from his second marriage) step daughter of mine aged 34; came for a visit on Sunday night. She is doing okay, considering life and health and the daily struggles of poverty. She stayed overnight and left the next day. She checked email, had a few coffees and we hung out for a few hours before we crashed for the night.

There have been a few protests across Ontario in Support of Bill 93 and Ombudsman oversight.

There was a bad budget in the Province of Ontario with people in poverty receiving a 1% increase to their rental budget and cost of living.

We are here to support children and families from Children's Aid Society.

Thank you for your support!!

Surveillance Tape.rm

2010-03-27T16:20:00.001-07:00

a small raw video that I am putting together with all the pieces of the puzzle. I just wanted to share a glimpse of what I have started so far

ombudsman and CAS

2010-03-25T11:54:00.000-07:00

Maybe we are making a dent after all. The Ombudsman has kept his job for a further six months. We still do not have his oversight in Children's Aid Society matters but its good that he still has a job.

Statement by Ontario Ombudsman André Marin

March 24, 2010

Today I was advised that my appointment as Ombudsman of Ontario has been extended for a further six months. I would like to thank the Premier and Cabinet for their support and for giving me the opportunity to continue to the good work of my Office during this time.

– André Marin, Ombudsman of Ontario

http://www.ombudsman.on.ca/en/media/press-releases/2010/statement-by-ontario-ombudsman-andr%C3%A9-marin.aspx

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I am making progress in my video. I had to reformat my hard drive Windows Movie Maker was giving me a headache and would not let me install voice or music. I am hoping to have it done by the weekend, time permitting.

In the mean time I will be sending a letter to Andrea Horwath regarding Ombudsman Oversight and seeing what she can do to introduce yet another Bill to the house for oversight.

We are here to protect children and families from the Children's Aid Society.
Thank you for your support!!

Devon update

2010-03-23T15:34:00.000-07:00

March 23, 2010 DAY 1825

It’s been a busy two days actually. We got a lot of rain and wind up here and we did a few things downtown. We are heading downtown tomorrow morning to do some paperwork at Family Court and lawyers offices. I am doing up a new video that I will probably finish up this evening and publish tomorrow before I head out for the day.

I have an update on Graham and Devon and the chemotherapy case I have been advocating and supporting since 2008. They went back to court and it got remanded until April 12, 2010. The Childrens Aid Society of Hamilton (CAS) is getting removed from the case and they are removing the publication ban on Devon speaking with the media. They will be back in court and I will be there to show moral support bringing coffee and friendship.

It would be great if I had the support of more people to come out and join in the festivities of the CAS walking away from this family after 2 years of torture to their boy.

Forced chemotherapy, ill health and sadness has abounded this family for the whole time.

If not for the support of family and friends I don’t think they would have made it through their days.

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Also....I got a phone call from the Hamilton Spectator today. They are going to publish my Letter to the Editor tomorrow. I thought that was pretty cool.

We are raising funds through the selling of Magic Jacks for Child Assist Services. Here is the ad that I posted on Kijiji

http://hamilton.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-electronics-Magic-Jack-W0QQAdIdZ193349206

We are here to protect children and families from the Children's Aid Society
Thank you for your support!!

DAY 1823

2010-03-21T21:55:00.000-07:00

I figured I would pop in and say hello.

I didn’t make it to the 8000 drums festival today unfortunately. But I did catch our local CHCH news at 6pm and 11pm and saw that there was a great turn out. Congratulations to the organizers of the event to get the new Chief of Police to show up and show his support for the Natives in our community of Hamilton.

I still have a head cold and spent most of my day doing research and sorting out household chores that I got done today.

Grandpa/Dad went out today and got some pop and smokes for me and I did a few loads of laundry and puttered around the basement. I am going to sort out my business taxes and personal taxes this week and get 2008 and 2009 out of the way.

Tomorrow is another busy day as I am heading downtown to meet with clients and pick up tax forms. It is supposed to rain or snow as well tomorrow so the weather is definitely changing even with it being spring now.

I wrote a letter to the editor in response to an article I read about homelessness and 5 university students sitting outside in the cold for 5 days begging for food and donations for the plight of the homeless. We will see if my basic comments get published in the Hamilton Spectator.

http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/740197

Here are my thoughts that I emailed off as a letter to the Editor of the Hamilton Spectator.

After reading the article about the homeless reality check I was disheartened about the fact that a phrase was used:

"They weren't on some scuzzy street. They didn't have to beg for a morsel of food or spare change from passersby."

As a person that frequents the downtown core by shopping at the farmers market, the library, and visiting friends that live in the downtown core I come across people daily that have to beg for coffee, or spare change. I would not say that the James St, Bay St or King St East corridors are scuzzy but it is sad when a phrase like that stereotypes the homeless into despair and poverty. It kind of makes you think when the word scuzzy and beg are being used. There is a reason for their poverty. It is not their choice to be poor or to beg for that morsel of spare change for a coffee. I hope the students were enlightened so that the next time they visit the downtown core they give that homeless person or person in poverty a helping hand and not a "get a job" shout out. It’s time we all helped those on the streets of our city.

I see Andrea Horwath is in the news again championing for justice against the Seimen's plant closure in Hamilton next year.

http://www.thespec.com/News/Business/article/740226

I am going to send her an email and letter this week regarding Bill 88/Bill 93 and the Ombudsman Oversight in Ontario regarding the Children's Aid Societies in this province. She has championed this cause for many years and I would like to see her promote another Bill in the house for oversight again before the House closes for the summer.

We are here to help children and families against the Children's Aid Society.
Thank you for your support!!

DAY 1822

2010-03-19T22:16:00.000-07:00

March 20, 2010

It’s been a busy week of trying to earn a living and paying the bills. The scrap yard is calling me to fill its bins with Aluminum. Scrap prices are up so I have a good load to take in next week. So I have been spending the spring and warm weather scrapping in my back yard. The weather has been warm. I think the weather got to me because now I have a head cold.

We are supposed to get rain tomorrow and I have to head downtown as well.

The weird thing is now that I have moved away from the downtown core and out of the limelight of the local mall in Hamilton’s Jackson Square where that was my daily or weekly office to meet clients and friends, rumors start spreading like wildfire. I don’t listen to rumors about what I might be doing or not doing. It just sickens me when I hear from friends or clients that I talk to on a daily basis when they hear about the indiscretions or illegal activities that I am supposedly doing. I am not doing anything illegal, I help people on a daily basis doing advocacy and spend every waking moment in research and information gathering to help another client fight for justice in their lives against the Children’s Aid Societies of this province. I will not let people judge me because I am not sitting in the local mall on a daily basis when I’m sitting at home on the computer or working out in the community. I just don’t have the patience for that kind of crap.

I will venture out to the 8000 drums event at the Hamilton Steam and Technology Center on Woodward Ave in Hamilton on Sunday. I will see how I feel. I have to get some more citrus fruits and some head cold medications tomorrow at the local market and drugstore and I have to drop off paperwork to clients and have a coffee with a friend. My days are always planned well in advance as it is a full day of commuting on the buses of Hamilton.

I have been watching the news about the Anti-CAS rallies as they are being called in the news from Cambridge to Oshawa and across this province. Bill 93 has been scrapped and now the Ombudsman’s position is almost up at the end of March 2010.

http://www.newsdurhamregion.com/news/article/150596

A man goes on a rampage in Windsor’s CAS parking lot and stabs a Children’s Aid Society worker and then attacks staff inside with a bicycle lock. He is subdued and arrested. Do you think he was a disgruntled father or parent that had his children taken away from him or just some random attacker on the street riding a bicycle I just don’t know.

http://www.windsorstar.com/news/Windsor+roofers+subdue+charged+knife+attack/2704212/story.html

I am always saying this one phrase what happens when you take a baby cub away from the mother bear? The mother bear goes on the attack and fights for her cub because you can’t take away her baby and her instincts takes over.
I am not justifying illegal activity, I feel empathy and sympathy for parents that have had their children ripped from their loving arms and into the open arms of a corrupt family court and Children’s Aid Society system that kills children in foster care and covers it up with inquests, recommendations and a call for more money. Yet again someone fell through the cracks of the justice system or family court system.

Well the NeoCitran and cold meds I took earlier are kicking in, so I will sign off and post again on Sunday evening.

Leading up to March 24, 2010 I know I will feel more sadness as that is our 5th year memorial anniversary of the removal of our two children from our loving arms.

We are here to protect children and families from the Children's Aid Society.
Thank you for your support!!

DAY 1815

2010-03-11T22:10:00.000-08:00

It has been a quiet week at home doing research online and working in the back yard every day.

It has been a beautiful sunny few days with temperatures reaching up to 13 degrees in the sun. I saw some bunny rabbits and today I came across 4 deer grazing in the fields across the road in the corn fields. It’s amazing what you see around here when it happens it’s a shocker.

I live near the airport so I like watching the planes fly by during the day. Even though I am not that far from the downtown ½ an hour by bus and 10 minutes by car, I like the country air and all that abounds it.

It saddens me to see that children are still dying in foster care across this country. A candle light vigil was held in memoriam of a child that died in care at the tender age of 21 months old.

There has been a federal budget and a provincial budget in this country but nothing awesome really. Just cutbacks, deficit spending and a lot of debate about things like changing our national anthem and “owning the podium?”

As a native Canadian Ojibwe from Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nations, Bear clan I remember why the Olympics held in Vancouver 2010 in the past weeks were held. It was all about big business and corporate greed, forgetting about the homeless and native population that hid in the background of the Olympic Games. Yes I admit I got caught up in the Canada Gold hockey game, and the closing ceremonies. I was glad it was over. But poverty and homelessness will remain in Vancouver, BC.

Children will still be taken away from families and children will still die in foster care across the west, the east and the rest of this country.

The anniversary of our children being removed is coming upon us on March 24, 2010 and we will mark the day of sadness remembering March 24, 2005. We will hold a sign and walk in front of the Family Court house in Hamilton even if it is just the two of us, Mary and Ed, Grandpa/Dad and Mar for an hour or two. I did a video without music and will post it with music and more information on our anniversary date.

I am not being diligent in my New Year’s resolution. I will try harder this month in posting on a daily basis or at least every other week.

We are here to protect children and families from Children's Aid Society!!
Thank you for your support!!

day 1827.wmv

2010-03-05T20:52:00.001-08:00

A reflection and information on Ombudsman and Accountability in Ontario regarding CAS

a new video

2010-03-05T20:09:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/maryljaniga

I posted a new video on my channel on Youtube. I just have to put the video up here in a bit. Its more of a reflection and information on the Ombudsman and oversight. The Childrens Aid Society and its non accountability and protecting families from abuse.

We are here to protect Children and families from the Children's Aid Society!!
Thank you for your support!!

DAY 1802

2010-02-27T17:52:00.000-08:00

• DAY 1802

Yes another milestone has been crossed for me and it has been over 1800 days since March 24, 2005. Most people tell me to get on with my life and stop counting. I will not stop counting until one day I see my children and grandchildren; and even then it will be a glorious day for me to continue on counting.

Face book and MSN are not the same I can only catch glimpses of their lives through camera pictures and thoughts.

I always wish things had been different.

What could I have done to change things? A lot of questions remain deep within my soul.

Children’s Aid Society needs accountability through the Ombudsman.

Children’s Aid Society must be held accountable for the deaths of children in foster care and the destruction of families within its communities.

I’m not being philosophical just hitting a reality wall.

I have experienced a lot in my 41 years of life and a lot has happened to my family in the past 5 years of my social activism life.

Has it gotten any better for children and families? No.

Has poverty and lack of jobs increased? Yes.

Has the deaths of children in foster care increased? Yes.

Have I spoken out enough for the injustices of our system? Not enough.

Spoken word and direct action are making a dent online and in person.

We are just a few warriors in this world of injustice.

I hear the words spewing out of the mouth of our Mayor stating “Making Hamilton the best place to raise a child” in this city every day.

I read it on blogs and the newspaper and the promotion of our great city to pave the way for a new Mental Health Research facility for children between the ages of 5 and 11 years old.

Our city and province will pave the way for a Domestic violence research study over five years that will discuss the prevention of domestic violence in our community and its effects on children, with domestic violence groups and women’s shelters praising its research that hasn’t even started as of yet.

We will mark March as we do every year as Violence against women with a lot of marches and symposiums and workshops and in praise of women and their achievements. We always have to remember that there are women out there being abused, killed and injured, at the hands of their spouse or significant other.

I was told the other day by a top ranking police investigator “We don’t live in a perfect world”, with a statement like that it is up to us to show these people with rose colored glasses on (the government and the system) that go home to their perfect lives and homes that there is a harsher reality outside. We have to show them the poverty, the despair and the heartache of a system that is corrupt and it is failing our families.

On a sidebar I have been very busy for the past year in the community helping one particular family dealing with the system. Please stay tuned for a ground breaking event that I am working on and an advocacy issue on regard this family in my community. The outcome will break new ground for how we as a community can work together and deal with domestic violence, the family court system and the police services within our communities.

There is talk of the removal of BILL 93 and Ombudsman oversight of the Children’s Aid Society when the Province of Ontario prorogues Parliament to make way for the new budget and the removal of all old bills in the House.

The removal of our Ombudsman in Ontario at the end of March just shows me that over my 5 years of working in this system with just the stroke of a pen we have to just start all over again at the very beginning and convince Ombudsman #2 that oversight of the Children’s Aid Society is needed.

Two people from very separate lives in the Hollywood life and fantasy land took their own lives. They were young and depressed; one was 41 and died in the City of Vancouver in Stanley Park. The other just 18 years old by jumping off his apartment balcony. That is a tragedy and may they rest in peace.

I bring this issue to light to bring out one simple phrase that affects the lives of so many families in Ontario in relation to the systemic abuses of our society and that phrase is POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER.

I am still researching this debilitating emotional disorder so I am just a novice researcher, or one of its so called victims as you would call me.

When a child leaves your home by the way of Child Protection through illegal warrants and apprehensions, there is no death or mourning period.

When you see your child over a period of time supervised by the child protection system you are viewed as the bad parent and you are to blame for them being in foster care.

When you attend court time and time again you have been perceived as not being co-operative to mental health testing and assessments, you become the victim.

When you never see your child again you become the victim.

When you hear a song or a phrase or a date passes of significance you become the victim.

When you enter certain buildings and the memories flashback in your mind of what happened in that room on a specific day where you said goodbye (like it was yesterday) it rips your heart right out and you start to cry and you don’t know why.

That is why I fight to protect other families that have experienced what I have experienced or may not have to live it over and over again.

To be victimized like that is a reality and very raw and emotional to me and even with a few tears were shed while I was writing this. I live to fight another day.

This post may seem off the wall with a lot of thoughts emotion and opinions, but that is why I count and blog

DAY 1795

2010-02-20T21:34:00.000-08:00

We had a busy week doing advocacy, research and court work for clients and people in the community. I am still collecting stories for the documentary with 2-3 people per day sending me their CAS horror stories every day. I look forward to meeting with people that are starting on the documentary. We are hoping to get things going and having things completed by June of this year. I am working alongside Linda Plourde of Protecting Canadian Children in this endeavor. http://www.protectingcanadianchildren.ca

Keep those stories coming. I am sympathetic and am always here to lend an ear or shed a tear. I have been through what many families have gone through, for the loss of a child to the Children’s Aid Society and foster care/kinship care system.

Our granddaughter Paige will be turning 11 years old tomorrow. I would like to wish her a Happy Birthday. Remember that Grandpa loves you and misses you very much. I can’t believe it has been 5 years since we last seen you. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAIGE"

Thank you for your support!!
We are here to protect children and families from the Children's Aid Society!!

DAY 1790

2010-02-15T09:48:00.000-08:00

Another two weeks have passed.

Yes, I know I was trying to make it a resolution for New Years to blog every day but as long as I write in my diary on a weekly or biweekly basis I am up to date.

We have been busy with advocacy and dealing with other family and Children’s Aid Society problems in the community.

We have attended meetings with officials regarding a domestic violence case gone totally wrong with police involvement and the family court system.

We have dealt with ODSP/OW clients and advocating for their rights to the basic benefits of income and care.

We celebrated Valentine’s Day on February 14, 2010 and now today it is Family Day in Ontario.

There are lots of activities in the community and beyond for Family Day. It is a holiday so not much is open either. I am doing laundry today and just tidying up around the home and garage.

The Olympics 2010 started in Vancouver on Friday it was an awesome ceremony that I watched on TV as well as on the Internet so it has been an active weekend.

We have finished moving our final loads to storage and our new home from our old place on Wellington Street. There will be no reason to go back there now. It will all be a memory when they tear down those houses and build a shopping mall or a small shop for a Swiss Chalet that is being proposed for the site.

My sister Sophie came to visit me for the weekend. She lives on the Scugog Island First Nations reserve near Port Perry Ontario. She turned 40 years old on February 13, 2010. Happy Birthday sister. We had a nice dinner at the Mandarin restaurant. I tried sushi for the first and last time that was fun. We had a great visit.

I figured I would pop in as today is the beginning of the week Monday.

We are here to support families and children from the Children's Aid Society!!
Thank you for your support!!