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Cobourg/Belleville Rallies
October 17, 2010 permalink
A scheduled rally was held October 15 in Cobourg. An unannounced rally occurred the next day in Belleville. Here are pictures from Cobourg and Belleville.
Organizer Scott Wilson sent the letter below to MPP Lou Ranaldi.
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We as citizens of Northumberland County in Cobourg Ontario are having a rally protest outside the Northumberland Children’s aid Society tomorrow from 9 am till 5 pm. What we are protesting is for the Ontario Government to see the wrongs that the Northumberland Children’s Aid Society and other Societies throughout Ontario are committing on families and single parents. We need oversight and we need the Government of Ontario to close down these privately run facilities and implement another service to give back the families and the single parents the right to raise and parent there children in an environment where they don’t have to be afraid anymore. Also the Ontario Government as also to stop funding these poorly run facilities and take away their Super Power on our families.
Thank you sincerely
Scott Wilson
Source: Facebook
Addendum: A newspaper covered the rally.
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Paul Kelly holds up a sign while demonstrating with 10 other people on Elgin Street in Friday against the ChildrenÕs Aid Society.Pete FisherCAS subject of roadside protest
A small but determined group of people stood along Elgin Street in Cobourg Friday demanding a change to the Children's Aid Society.
"Canada needs to wake up -- quickly," said Linda Plourde, who drove from Stoney Creek to attend the demonstration.
Plourde, who is a member of the organization Protecting Canadian Children, has written a book about her experience with the Children's Aid Society.
"Too many children are dying in foster care under the supervision of Children's Aid because there is no accountability," she charged.
"In so many cases, CAS destroys families."
Stating foster care has become an industry, Plourde is not totally against foster care and said there are many good foster parents.
Since 2006, Plourde said nearly 400 Canadian children have died in foster care.
Scott Wilson of Cobourg said the CAS must be held accountable for its actions.
"If the children are being abused, then by all rights, CAS needs to go in, but if they go into good homes and take the children, that's terrible," he said.
Northumberland Children's Aid Society director of services Tami Callahan said it's a common feeling among people that the organization carries a lot of power.
"If I had someone knocking on my door and they had the authority to take my children, I would think they were pretty powerful, too," she said.
"We do have a lot of authority to intervene when we believe the safety of children is at immediate risk."
But, Callahan said, CAS is accountable to many, including a court.
"If we remove a child from any family, we have to be before a court of law within five days to explain, through affidavits, why we took the action we did," she said.
Callahan also said that, most times, unless there is immediate danger, CAS must obtain a warrant from a justice of the peace before the apprehend a child.
"So, yes, we have a lot of power, but we have to give evidence in court to support our actions," she said.
"Any money that Children's Aid Society receives relates to ensuring the needs of that child are being provided for."
Source: Northumberland Today
Addendum: The web-only news source NorthumberlandView covered the rally, including a YouTube video local copy (flv).
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Protesters Take To The Street In Front Of Northumberland CAS Offices
A group called Families Against the Northumberland Children's Aid Society protested in front of the CAS offices on on Burnham Street in Cobourg to protest "the wrongs that the Northumberland Children’s Aid Society and other Societies throughout Ontario are committing on families and single parents".
The group also says that they "need oversight and we need the Government of Ontario to close down these privately run facilities and implement another service to give back the families and the single parents the right to raise and parent there children in an environment where they don’t have to be afraid anymore."
The group is also circulating a petition that asks "Please sign this petition as we will produce this to the Ontario Government asking that there is oversight and accountability of the Northumberland Children's Aid Society. we as a community must come together and make these monsters realize that were done backing down."
Letter Written to Northumberland-Quinte West MPP Lou Rinaldi
We as citizens of Northumberland County in Cobourg Ontario are having a rally protest outside the Northumberland Children’s aid Society tomorrow from 9 am till 5 pm. What we are protesting is for the Ontario Government to see the wrongs that the Northumberland Children’s Aid Society and other Societies throughout Ontario are committing on families and single parents. We need oversight and we need the Government of Ontario to close down these privately run facilities and implement another service to give back the families and the single parents the right to raise and parent there children in an environment where they don’t have to be afraid anymore. Also the Ontario Government as also to stop funding these poorly run facilities and take away their Super Power on our families.
Thank you sincerely
Scott Wilson
Source: NorthumberlandView
Addendum: Yet another newspaper report on the Cobourg rally.
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Families affected by Children's Aid protest for more transparency
COBOURG — Linda Plourde, of Protecting Canadian Children, joins residents at the corner of William and Elgin Streets during a protest aimed at highlighting negative experiences with the Children’s Aid Society on Friday, Oct. 15.Bill TremblayCOBOURG -- Several local families gathered at the corners of Elgin and William Streets in Cobourg to protest for more transparency at the Children's Aid Society (CAS.)
A Cobourg resident, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his children, organized the Family Justice Rally, which began Friday, Oct. 15, to protest what he perceived as a lack of transparency in his dealings with CAS. His children entered the system when he was serving time in jail, and were eventually declared Wards of the Crown with no access granted. He says he has not seen them (children) for more than three years, and his third child was also recently taken into custody shortly after birth.
"I've talked to many families in Cobourg who have been devastated to have their kids taken away by CAS," the Cobourg father said.
"A lot of them don't even know why. They're told the child needs protection, but protection from what? We're here to show families that there's no shame in protesting, there's no shame in fighting for your child and there's no shame in standing up for your rights. I've been fighting for my kids for the last three years. I'm not saying I'm a perfect parent, it takes a genius to be a perfect parent, but I got myself in a little bit of trouble and now they're holding that against me."
Port Hope resident Loretta Cassidy said she decided to attend Friday's rally because of her own negative experiences with the organization when her son was taken into custody more than 17 years ago, at the age of three.
"I was asked to lie to my son every time I saw him to show positive reinforcement," she said of the experience, which lasted a little more than a year before her son was returned to her custody. "That's not working with the family if you're asking them to lie to their kids. I just hope they can turn around and start providing a little more positive reinforcement than they're providing now."
Tami Callahan, director of services at the Children's Aid Society of Northumberland, said that the organization's main goal is to keep families together, and that children are only removed from the household in extreme circumstances.
"When we receive allegations of abuse we do an investigation and work with service providers to put processes in place to make sure children are safe in the home," she explained.
"Often children do stay in the home, if they must be removed we always look for other family members who are willing to keep that child safe. It's really only exceptional circumstances where we do have to remove a child and look at court actions. Often, after some work has been done, those children are then able to return to the home."
Although Ms. Callahan was aware of the protest outside, she said there had been no direct dialogue with organizers or participants. However, there are several channels available for those who do have concerns surrounding CAS, she explained, and they would welcome the chance to dialogue with anyone.
"It certainly seems to be quite appropriate, protestors want their message to be heard and they are certainly within their rights to do that," she explained of the Family Justice Rally.
"Our internal complaint review always begins with dialogue, so we would certainly be open to that. In addition there is an external complaints process, the Child Services Review Board, which was established in 2007 as an opportunity for any citizen who felt that they had been mistreated to air their grievances. The courts are another resource so there's three immediate avenues in terms of accountability and transparency that people can access. We are certainly always open to having discourse about enhancing our service delivery."
Linda Plourde, of the organization Protecting Canadian Children, drove down from Stoney Creek to attend the Family Justice Rally and spread the word about a larger event taking place on Friday, Nov. 5 in Hamilton. The Conference on Children Protection aims to gather concerned residents, affected families and children's organizations together to discuss Children's Aid Services across the province and how safety and accountability can be improved.
"A lot of groups will be coming together because we need accountability back, no question," Ms. Plourde said. "We are very concerned about the children going into these services."
The Family Justice Rally continued on Saturday, Oct. 16 from 9 a.m. to dusk, with a final event on Monday, Oct. 18 at 9 a.m. in front of CAS Northumberland headquarters on Burnham Street.
Source: Northumberland News/The Independent
