YOUR PERSPECTIVE: Urgent action must be taken to improve child welfare system

The recent criminal case that came to light in the Fraser Valley, involving the abuse of two Indigenous children in foster care, was truly heart-wrenching. Tragically, one of these children lost their life due to the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD)’s failure to provide adequate oversight.

This shocking case of the mistreatment of these siblings under the protection of the ministry has triggered multiple calls for the resignation of Minister Mitzi Dean. The crimes against these vulnerable children — including extreme violence and starvation — were committed in Lake Errock, near Chilliwack, between 2020 and 2021. The First Nations Leadership Council is among those calling on the minister to step down, citing her failure to take meaningful accountability.

In the court case for the foster parents who perpetrated these crimes, evidence revealed that MCFD staff neglected to check on the two children for a period of seven months. Although some of these staff members were dismissed, the minister has not taken responsibility for this alarming example of negligence and systemic breakdown. Instead, she has resorted to repeating scripted talking points, failing to offer any genuine reassurance that such a tragedy will be prevented in the future. This is simply unacceptable, and the government must take responsibility.

Audit data from the ministry shows many regions across B.C. are scoring very low on a number of duties and obligations — like basic safety checks, ongoing maintenance of foster homes, preliminary checks of caregivers, and proper training of those individuals. Every 90 days, social workers are supposed to visit foster care homes, however in seven files, it was found that no visit ever happened at all. In the same region where these two children were being housed, the ministry had not done a required in-person visit for 22 out of the 43 placements.