Did agency fail to inform?
Since the tragedy we have had a multitude of fingers being pointed by those in B.C. who were involved. The most recent to point fingers is the agency that was overseeing the care of the young man, the Fraser Valley Aboriginal Children and Family Services Society.
The agency’s finger pointing comes after Premier Christy Clark’s assertion that despite a policy requiring agencies to inform the ministry if they intend to have a youth stay in a hotel unsupervised, the ministry was never told Gervais was living in an Abbottsford hotel on his own.
Premier Clark said the agency made a “real mistake” in not letting the ministry know they wanted to put Gervais in a hotel, which the agency considers to be a case of Clark pointing fingers. It may seem harsh, Clark’s admonition, but isn’t it a fair statement? If the agency did not inform the ministry — and the agency itself hasn’t denied they did not inform the ministry — then it does indeed appear to have been a mistake.
Native foster-care issues
But the agency does not seem to want to address that notion. With a statement they released Monday they instead preferred to criticize and blame, to point fingers, at the government.
“This is a time when it is necessary for the entire system to step forward and accept accountability for the historical and current challenges that fail the children, youth and families,” the statement said. “Shifting focus solely to the delegated agency appears to be a political move and is not what is needed at this time. What we need now – more than ever – is leadership, not politics.”
But the premier’s statement does not ring out as politics to this observer, no, it lets agencies handling children in this province know that they could be called to task if they do not adhere to guidelines.
And given the government has been lambasted over its perceived failures to adequately provide for foster children, in particular First Nations foster children, it seems fair that they point out the support they are providing will not work if agencies fail to comply with the rules.
In essence the Fraser Valley Aboriginal Children and Family Services Society have tied the death of Gervais to their argument that First Nations children in B.C. are not being given adequate support. We’ve treated Native children poorly for centuries in this country, and it’s fair game to repeat that refrain until we treat them fairly.
But that does not mean aboriginal agencies cannot be held up into the light of criticism and even sanction. The agency in question gets $30 million or so in funding each year and the government has every right to make certain they are following guidelines in how they approach their mandate to care for Native youth.
Not because of the money, per se, no, damn the money, it is secondary, but because the money represents helping youths in need find their way to a productive life.
B.C. foster-care: working together
Should not the agency do as they would advise the government do and “step forward and accept accountability.” Should they not focus on their internal investigation? What did happen? Was there a failure to inform the ministry Gervais was to stay alone in a hotel? Why was he placed in the hotel? And could the input of ministry employees been in some way helpful?
Incidentally, the worst playing of politics in all this came from the NDP, who called on B.C. Children’s Minister Stephanie Cadieux to resign in the wake of Gervais’ death. NDP MLA Doug Donaldson, the party’s critic for family services, asked how Cadieux could have let Gervais die alone.
Of course Mr. Donaldson said that before he knew the full details. Now that he does will he take back such criticism? Will he instead ask the agency how they could have let Gervais die alone?
And what of Children and Youth Representative Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond? After the death of Gervais she asked “who would actually believe them (the ministry) when they tell you they’re adamant no kid will be in a hotel and then a young person is in a hotel in crisis and dies.”
Is Turpel-Lafond prepared to retract those words if it turns out the ministry was not told of Gervais being put up in a hotel? Will she ask the agency why they felt a youth in “crisis” would be best served by living in a hotel on his own? Will Turpel-Lafond now criticise the agency as much as she did the ministry?
The agency is correct in saying “what we need now – more than ever – is leadership, not politics.” Further, the agency’s board chairwoman, Gwen Point, was spot on when she told the Globe and Mail this: “We’re walking through fire here and we need to walk through it together. You can’t turn around and blame somebody for something. Everybody’s got to take responsibility.”
If they insist on pointing fingers, the aptly named Ms. Point and her agency should point one in their own direction. Or better yet stop pointing fingers altogether and get on with the job. After all — isn’t that what they want the government to do?
