B.C.’s child watchdog asks Attorney General to intervene in Metis toddler case
VANCOUVER — British Columbia’s representative for children and youth is urging the province’s attorney general to intervene in the case of a Metis toddler being adopted to non-aboriginal parents in Ontario.
Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond said she is acting on advice from three leading Metis cultural experts and believes that the little girl’s heritage has not been given adequate consideration.
In a letter to Attorney General Suzanne Anton, Turpel-Lafond has asked that a decision on the child’s placement be delayed for about a month so full indigenous consultation can take place.
“After the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, we’re supposed to be in an era of reconciliation, of listening and changing how we do child welfare,” Turpel-Lafond said in an interview.