Editor:
Re: Phase out independent child advocate: report, Dec. 16.
Regarding the recent recommendation by former deputy minister Bob Plecas to eliminate the role of independent child advocate Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, I seriously doubt we would have heard a single word about of the recent string of deaths of children in the care of the Ministry of Children and Family Development were it not for the presence of Turpel-Lafonde fulfilling her duty as an independent advocate for children.
To suggest that any government ministry would do its best work under the supervision of internal watchdogs subordinate to the minister would be laughable were this not a life-and-death situation for those children unfortunate enough to be relegated to the ministry’s care.
The report’s recommendations remind me of the old joke about what to do when you hear disturbing noises coming from under the hood of the car: just shut the window and the problem will go away.
Donald Fleming, White Rock
