Image: Cindy Evans, contributed / A little 17-month-old toddler was removed from the home of her Chilliwack grandparents Monday, Nov. 24. Jerry Bevans is pictured hugging his granddaughter.  

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Child removed from Chilliwack home

Emotions run high Monday as 17-month-old toddler removed from home of Chilliwack grandparents

Nov 25, 2025 | 5:37 AM

CHILLIWACK — An emotional scene unfolded Monday afternoon outside a Chilliwack daycare after a 17-month-old toddler was taken away from her biological grandparents as police attended.

Tom Bevans tells Fraser Valley Today that his 17-month-old granddaughter has been removed from his custody, saying she had been living with him and his wife for the past 10 months and thriving. He says his granddaughter’s biological father is still in drug treatment and has failed a drug test twice in eight months.

The primary image accompanying this story shows Bevans saying goodbye to his granddaughter on Monday, a moment he says “felt like a dagger was going through my heart, hugging my granddaughter for the last time.”

Bevans says his granddaughter will now be taken care of by a 79-year-old woman who is not physically able to play with her or lift her.

Image: Cindy Evans / Tom and Tracy Bevans talk to Chilliwack RCMP members Monday afternoon, Nov. 24.

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“We need the general public’s help as the optics of this situation is disgusting, and a young child is being put at risk of harm, while ripping a family apart,” Bevans wrote in an email to Fraser Valley Today. “You would think us being the biological grandparents and having two letters written from both [the granddaughter’s] mother and grandmother, both of indigenous descent, that [she] should remain in our custody that this kinship, which is extremely important in the indigenous community, would come first but once again it wasn’t.”

Chilliwack North MLA Heather Maahs says she got involved in the difficult situation last week after learning from Bevans, a constituent, that the 17-month-old girl was going to be removed from a Chilliwack home where she lives with her biological grandparents. She expressed grief and disbelief over the forced removal of the toddler.

“Today, a 17-month-old grandchild was removed from the care of her grandparents where she has lived for the past 10 months. She has learned to walk, beginning to talk, has a routine, and friends with people she loves and who love her,” Maahs said. “Monday, she was moved to the home of an elderly foster woman (79 years of age) so she will be close to her Father who is not yet able to care for her. The question that begs the asking is, why? Why now? Why not when the father has his own home and job and can care for his child? Apparently applying common sense is not part of the criteria for good decision making. The social workers decided this was best. And that is that.”

Image: Chilliwack North MLA Heather Maahs

Maahs says Xyólheméylh, also known as the Fraser Valley Aboriginal Family & Child Services Society, operates with the oversight of the provincial Ministry of Children & Family Development, and believes there is little accountability or communication with the families or caregivers of the children they are supposed to be protecting and giving the best chance at life.

Fraser Valley Today has submitted an online inquiry with Xyólheméylh seeking comment on their understanding of the matter, fully recognizing they may not be able to comment on the specifics of this situation.

Fraser Valley Today contacted two spokespersons for the Ministry of Children and Family Development for comment on this matter last week. 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 MCFD 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.”

Image: BC NDP Caucus / MCFD Minister Jodie Wickens, MLA for Coquitlam-Burke Mountain.

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.

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.

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

“We strongly disagree with the Ministry’s decision to remove [our granddaughter] from our home and place her in an alternate foster care home only to make it more convenient for the father who is currently still in treatment,” Bevans said. “This decision is NOT in the best interest of the child and that’s what this Ministry is supposed to represent. The Child. Not to cater to the father’s needs.”