Times Advocate, 1997-04-02, Page 4Page 4 Times -Advocate, April 2;1997
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CAS comes under attack for deaths
L
ast weeks announcement that
hetween 1994 and 1995, 100 children
died whilein the care of the Childrens
Aid Society has raised plenty- of -douhts
about the effectiveness of -this organiza-
tion_.
Most.of'thedeaths-were accidental
but.a stihstantial number were murder
and others were suicide. Most chilling
,ire -the number of deaths flue to. neglect.
The CAS has the authority to -remove a -
child from the home if there is iminedi-
-atc danger. but .prefers to _keep;the rami-
ly intact while providing parenting..
.cou.r;es and. other assistance. There
wen: 6hviously ,quite a few tragic mis-
calculations.
:1 '.&•ornan who found herself inves
ugated- by: the Chi ldren'::\id Society
duringa no -holds -barred neighborhood
dispute stated: "The Children's Aid SO-
ciety has einOiqrh ter th,to makeYour
Iife'misera hlc. hut -not enough to do- any
real good." Apparently ,t ,nuisance call
had:plat her ih the uncomfortable
of_havinii f0 prCve that shi: didn't
nigIect,her children.Minot the same e
ilii': a,child in the church ygroup. the:
woman.It d was'ho pi,talized twice with
tiuspici�ius iinjuries while the parent was
being investigated for
.Although short o f both staff and •'
funding, GAS workers -are treading a,
very -diftkult path: The ii must investi
gate ;il i:omplaints_ ut' abuse and he
elect. The very nature of their investi-
gation. is invasive going into private
homes and asking humiliating voce--' '
tions. They are well aware that this
"guilty until proven Inrfocent. aspect
has Made a call to theL ,'.S a favorite
weapun-tor vipdiciive neighbors and
dis_iuntled ex -spouses. .
.They must err on.the side of tau-
tion. knowingsome very abusive fami-
lies maintain lovely homes and a
charming enough act to fool even the
most hard noted .investigator.
. They also know theatrics aren't
necessary. Jr the CAS makes trouble.
the family can lust relocate. People on
•
the.move'are hard to keep track•of, espe=
cially when there is a series ofstep-
fathers and accompanying name chang-
es. _
And there is the question of rights
before the law. More than one parent has
been shocked when the courts award and
enforce an ahusive ex -spouse's child
visitation rights.
To complicate investigations.
. abused kids. sometimes he_hecause they
don't want to he removed from the I'allll-
ly home and placed in foster care: he-
catise thereare younger.siblings to pro -
'wet. or because they dont want to get
mom or dad in trouble:
But the most,difficult prohlem child
care .workers face. the single tactor
- 'Ii chis probably responsible for more
tragic deaths and unnecessary suffering, -
is the_ people who-don;t,report sttspected
;abuse. it's not my problem. and what if 1
am -mistaken?. After all. the ,guy is un'
city council, she's in. the church choir.
and besides, those kids It'ave designer ,
cicjthes and every toy imaginable. And
wa n't the CAS there last week"' Surely,
they_ would have noticed something
wrong..
Maybe not. Maybe last week the kid-
had
id-
had no-visihle bruises:Mavhe'ad vas
hiking his iiiedicatiom-because he knew
the CAS was -coming. Maybe mctnt was:
sicker; Don't make assumptions, make
phone calls. And keep making them-. ,
Call the,CAS (listed in the White.Pages
of your phone book 1. Call the police.
Call the school. • ' -
Teachers and.other processionals
have a legal obligation to report suspect •
-
. 'ed abuse: The rest of us have a moral
obligation at this. %ery least. A single un-
r.. necessary death.is one'toci many, but
101) in a single year is a truly horrible
statistic.'
Demandin`v,accountability from the .
-CAS. makes good- reading in a newspa-
per article. but making ourselves -ac-
countable when we suspect abuse is hap-
pening will.save.iives.
• :11' Veit.%
•
Speak Out
The r-rnes-Advocate :retinues to welcolne betters t� the editoras a
forurn for cpert.disc:;spron of local issues, concerns. complaints
and kudos. The Times -Advocate reserves the •1;11t to edit letters for brevity. Please -send your
letters to'PO. Box'850 Exeter. Ontario. NCM .1 _i_. Sign your letter with both name and address.
•lnonymous letter§ will not oe published.
Letters to the Editor
A View From Queen's Park
By Eric Down ..
Progressive Conservative Premier Mike Har -
lis is refusing-to.sav which party"he will sup-
port in -the federal election. but his heart ought
to be with Reform.
Ontario premiers generally help their federal
,.parties when asked. but Reform under Preston
`lanai ng generously refrained from `running
candidates against Harris in the 1995 provincial.
election :utd avoided splitting the right of cen-
tre vote and Harris owes it a favour.
The premier also has inure in common philo-
sophically with Reform, although he may have
some doubts about its ability to run a cohesive
party.
H.irrns won his election by promising to re- -
duce government radically. cut personal in-
come tax, balance the budget in four years and
get tough with crime.
Federal Tory leader Jean Charest has un-
veiled his policies for his election and they in-
clude cutting government, reducing personal in-
come tax by a minimum 10 per cent and
eliminating the deficit ;,y the year 2000.
Simple Cruelties
- Brenda Burke
Chaotic car care
•\Viten - It least expect
\'hen •. nn :c _at .1 million
hitiL� 'cl,to .tncl pay 'nr. alortt!
-entries car trouble. . -
Easter'Slinday.eyening found,
.uitl little family sttaneled, first at
:i-tarm..then a main intersection;
then at Clic top of .0011 glom; .t
busy highway.
rhinking it Was ,punt;. w.
were dad in .hurt ,Icevcs .unci •
thin tackets..auntbting .cround
with the Rood uli. heeling tip the
battery.while the Icy_ winds.
['levy. reminding r5 hume•\vas ,t
while -away and the next day
was. Monday inornung., the ,tart
of .t whole new work 'week.
•'-hat:, -funny. our.cxv bllie
mobile t \vluch Inas .t million
kilometers .,pinning its dials).
IRIS never been ,riled and rarely
:le:uietl, yet Inas retilscd to
c t i .lows in the past. \Nell.
u l mice. hilt Ulan was due to
.tune computerized problem
\,int the steetang. - nut the
auris.
�iothntg is.wrnse than being
• sur: ntled, with nu help in sight.
After taking ine to the Metro
1,n11 one summer. my dad
iieaded home to Hanover in his
)eat up. Hist\'. tri -colored .
nntrapucln: rhe engine:blew , iu
llnnL -100 .lnd he
.valkett for chiles in dclwnpour.
blisters ,!rotving nn hit feet :lnd
frustration. clouding -!us
Tlien there was the time lie
stepped out ,11 .another hunker .
.vhule trniring \frlc:uiLion
,Satan..hisi 101igurl^ illi'•'\il\"".I
.Vniilcttl•' talc. •.Ione :air, i
Ie•cp.'V.IVIltt! `11' .ant's
frantically.
'•\Viral :lie \'t►11 .101111! ' ( .lilt
vott..ee :hose
there "'%
; . tum. I Ili ` 'i:.ill.':I '11111 and
,iisuninitc .t 1a -' nr, ' ill .he
'.vaV ['cutis I,:% t n 11t'
detectcil :, nl, t:u n►,� if) .i1
1
lino- :sir 10- make it down a few
more streets. praying it would -
rtln a little_lo►nger on fumes?
!ock your:keys inside the.
ar .viten you: re in .1 hurry and -
.ire :masted to he somewhere-"
really important - like .t pizza
►:ut\ tt John', house:.'
ilii '\,•r nne,tctually carries
- t ono .ei cit kers ,bound or
.toes to
he .1 rouht'e to hitting it•
pare key. in.‘ine of those cheap -
,little containers with magnets
:,hied tb their hacks to make
ihern temporarily •tick
underneath the vehicle
, l nnewhere.
•'.),-.spite the headaches they. -
•,u, :nisi. I 4et :t4tached to cars...
\ lit n nl - 1t Them is -starting to .
,.• and ..1st money torparts.
1 ,:uoi (1 part with it.tnd.look
torv,trtt to new payments and
-Ic:ut flour mats.
1 tow . an anyone give up a
'favorite. old juhkcr. especially
one that manages to get theni
ihrinn !h the worst snowstorms.
.10 most last-minute
tppomtrnettts, and.hest of all. to
tempting car Tots where they.can
adintre tvh'at they'd like to own
in its place'.
•
the un .:kun1' i.• \ rill- • :u'
whizzed p: -i 11, 111 aiwaro
!unknown ie• lniauuns: ,1ntiti(1us
!u 'heir dilemma.
It n -:U\' io take .t •_ar for
_rantexi. t un the.kcy
ignore it yarning ,Ii11s
hlccup�. 'lams. knocks,tnd
,porters t .uul lust keep on. •
dn''Ing u t .there '.vc:'need to .
,q 15 conitlietcly nnder'tood by
:chicle
and 1n:utkund dike.
liver run ,nit 1t • ;e-, '‘.now,ni
• ,i:un'v:iI ,11 ',,lc nn
Charest would make the streets tater by
measures including abolishing the tainrhope
clause that permits those convicted of first de- .
gree murder to apply hit parole before their till
sentences are served. " •
Reform offers•much the sane. Jt would re-
duce income tax on a sliding scale giving more
to lower income earners and an average family.
of four an annual savuig of S2.(00. -
Reform also would cut government, balance
the budget and prevent first degree murderers
being released early.
Both Charest and Manning promise to.reduce
the premiums employers pay for. unemploy- - .
Ment insurance. which Harris has pressed for as
part of his oveLall aim to take burdens off busi-
ncss. _
Charest, in one of the few notable differences
between the two leaders, wants Quebec. his
home province, recognised as a distinct society.
but Manning has dug in his heels against this
and Harris shares his concern.
Harris insists that despite years of debate
Premier Harris owes federal Reform party a favor
there is still uncertainty as to what distinct soci-
ety. means and worries it right give Quebec the
right. as an example. to eliminate use of
lish in business in an attempt to preserve .ind •
promote its French -.peaking majority.
But -the real difference between the federal
Tories and Reform is that Reform has pushed
its policies for radical cuts in government for
wears .utd at times when they were less popular.
Reform campaigned on cuts in the 1993 fed-
eral election. two years before Harris won an
election on them.
Reform and Harris also were united in mak-
ing promises"to abolish elected members lavish
pensions, which Harris has fulfilled.
Charest has taken a long time to discover his
passionfor saving money. As environment--- -- -
minister. he was considered more a Red Tory. a
species Harris has put on the endangered list in
his own province. -
When Charest ran for leader in 1993, he fo-
cused on issues that were staples of the time,
creating jobs, retraining and reducing the drop-
out rate in schobls.:utd promoted himself as
having the style of ,t winner.
Charest made the occasional murmur about
wanting to reduce the scope of government and
.avoid tax Increases. hut never turned this -into .t
theme. - - -
.Right wing guns David Frum. who thinks like
Harris and should know a right winger when he
sees one. prunounded Charest .It the time as
having 'depressing lack of commitment to con-
servative principle. •
After Harris won, Charest began musing his
federal Tories might appeal more by moving to
the right and had to be shoved further by his .
parry's youth wing adopting far -right policies.
Reform shared Harris's right wing views all
along and helped pave the way. for them, while
the johnny- come -lately federal Tories awoke
to them only after they were proven to win
votes --Harris's more natural home is Reform.