Chilliwack North MLA lobbies to keep 17-month-old toddler with grandparents; MCFD responds

“This email is to notify you that the Minister of Children and Family Development has been made aware of the situation concerning [the granddaughter] and the intent of social worker [redacted] to remove this child from the Daycare against the will of her guardians…her biological grandparents,” Maahs’ email stated, which was sent to four MCFD staffers who have gov.bc.ca as part of their emails. “While we wait for the Minister’s direction, you are advised that no further action should take place regarding the removal of [the granddaughter]. Any further action would create unnecessary trauma to the child causing undo harm. As the biological mother is Indigenous, it is her wish that her father and stepmother be the appointed caregivers of [the granddaughter] at this time, therefore NO ACTION should be taken to remove the child from their care.”

Maahs says the child was not taken from the Sardis day care Thursday morning as had been feared. For the time being at least, the child will remain with her biological grandparents in Chilliwack.

“Heather and I had a conversation with the Minister in the hallway,” said Bird. “The case was escalating. We were very worried about how this would end. How it ended is extremely positive, but how did it get to this point? As the Critic (for Children & Family Development), I took over the portfolio five weeks ago. There are some massive systemic challenges with MCFD. There are lots of cases like this all over the province where they’re looking at removing a child from a kinship or relationship where the child is comfortable and they’re thriving. It doesn’t make sense. It’s the complete opposite of what we’re supposed to do.”

Prince George-Valemount MLA Rosalyn Bird (2nd from left).

Fraser Valley Today contacted two spokespersons for the Ministry of Children and Family Development for comment on the matter. In response, Jodie Wickens, Minister for Children and Family Development, emphasized that the safety and well-being of children is always her top priority, and stressed that situations where families interact with the ministry or Indigenous Child and Family Service agencies are never straightforward.

“Child protection workers face challenging situations and make difficult decisions every day, reviewing sometimes conflicting information and weighing one risk over another,” Wickens said. “Our role is to work with families, providing the support they need, and doing everything we can to keep families together, even in the most complex situations. The balance, however, of keeping families together and keeping children safe often means making tough decisions, and there are times when not all parties involved will agree with a decision.”

Wickens said decisions made by ministry child protection workers must be grounded in the facts of the case and the best interests of the child. While Wickens cannot speak to the specifics of this particular case, she said there are better ways to address concerns than MLAs taking action without being privy to all of the facts.

“There are many appropriate channels to raise concerns about cases – a politician contacting social workers without all of the facts and attempting to order them to take a specific action isn’t one of them and is extremely irresponsible,” Wickens said.

The grandparents in this case told Maahs they repeatedly asked for answers from child protection workers and got no response.

“My responsibility as Minister is and will continue to be to make sure trained professionals on the ground can do their job with all the facts available so that we can keep children safe,” she said.

Under the Child, Family and Community Service Act, the Ministry of Children and Family Development cannot comment on specific situations or confirm if children or youth were in care or receiving services from MCFD.

by Mike Vanden Bosch

Chilliwack North MLA lobbies to keep 17-month-old toddler with grandparents; MCFD responds

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