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As Reported today by John Dunne of the Canadian Foster Care Council:

"CHTV did an interview today regarding a child who was taken by CAS because his family (and the child of 11) no longer wanted to take chemotherapy due to the pain involved. The hospital called the family, asked them to come in for an appointment and the CAS was on hand to apprehend the 11 year old who is now in the system. The interview was great. Peter Kormos, of the Ontario NDP smashed the CAS bigtime. Called them archaic, and said that they should be abolished and the government should take over. He also spoke of the government refusing to give Ombudsman power over CAS.
I was interviewed along with Michelle Lafantasie and a Family Law lawyer were also in the interview.It will be on tonights news for CHTV (ctv hamilton) but will also be on the web site after that time"

John Dunne

Executive Director
The Foster Care Council of Canada
http://www.afterfostercare.ca

The Story Follows:

<<who really knows what's best for a child?>>

<<They wanted due process, wanted to stand behind the wishes of their child, wanted to see a court order>>

<<"....and when your body goes, it goes, right, it doesn't matter how strong your faith is, or how strong your will to survive, you're going to go right, (sob) and as a father I'm trying everything I can..." >>

Parents battling hospital, CAS over child's cancer treatment

Say boy is being treated against his & their will

Scot Urquhart, CHCH News

Published: Thursday, May 08, 2008

A young Hamilton boy is undergoing treatment for cancer. But the question is, should he be? His parents don't want him to go through chemotherapy again and they say neither does he. But the Children's Aid Society has obtained a court order allowing a hospital to forcibly treat the eleven year old. As Scot Urquhart tells us this case is raising tough questions about who has the right to decide the fate of a child.

It's become a classic legal and moral debate: who really knows what's best for a child?

These parents have an 11 year old child suffering from a rare and aggressive form of leukemia. Due to legal constraints, we cannot identify them.

Their child has already undergone some treatment for the disease, and didn't do well. The parents say he suffered, and they put a halt to further chemotherapy.They discussed the issue as a family.

The child knew his condition was grave, and at the best -- would face more chemotherapy, aggressive radiation, and a bone marrow transplant, all with a significant risk of death.

If the child survived the treatment, the best prognosis was a 40 to 50 percent chance of recovery.

The family decided not to continue treatment.

But doctors, and the CAS had other ideas.

When the family arrived at McMaster Children's Hospital Thursday morning for what they were told was a routine set of tests, the child was seized for forced treatment.

Their reaction: "Oh, no you're not."

They wanted due process, wanted to stand behind the wishes of their child, wanted to see a court order.

"If you're going to do treatment, then please advise us, and we'll back up, and wait for you to apprehend him so that we can still stand behind our child's wishes" -Child's father

Instead, a heated argument ensued. And all through it the child was "screaming, 'I don't want this, I don't want this, I don't want this, why won't you ever listen to me? Please somebody listen to me.'"The father went to call his lawyer:

"in the midst of calling my lawyer security was called on me, and they tried to force me to hang up from calling for my lawyer"

He claims he was roughed up, and handcuffed by security officers. Police were called, but refused to press charges, and ordered his release.

He appeared with his wife on Live at 5:30 here on CHCH News. And Children's Aid Director Domenic Verticchio was asked under what legal circumstances the CAS could seize a child:

Mark Hebscher: "Dominic you mentioned off the top that if a parent is unable or unavailable, or refuses in this case."

Verticchio: "unwilling, that's it..."Hebscher: "unwilling..." Verticcho: "yes."

But unless the child is in iminent peril, the legislation and the courts have directed that a warrant be obtained and produced prior to seizure.
Father: "and we don't have those documents yet."

Hospital PR director Jeff Vallentin dismissed the family's story as hearsay, although he would neither confirm nor deny the details. Then he cited the Privacy Act, and the jurisdiction of the CAS, saying he was legally bound not to talk about this case. Although he would not say at what time the court order went into effect, or what transpired beforehand.

Father: "and when your body goes, it goes, right, it doesn't matter how strong your faith is, or how strong your will to survive, you're going to go right, (sob) and as a father I'm trying everything I can."

Watch video Live at 5:30 segment

Parents now get to visit sick child taken from them

Boy, 11, undergoing new round of chemotherapy

James MacDonald, CHCH News

Published: Friday, May 09, 2008

An update on a heartbreaking story we first brought you Thursday night. An eleven year old cancer-stricken boy remains in hospital, seized by authorities from his parents' care, and forced to undergo chemotherapy treatments.James MacDonald says there are a number of new developments -- among them, late Friday afternoon, the parents told CHCH News they are being allowed to see their child, after a day of confusion and frustration.

Though his toys are on the floor and his drawings on the wall, the child's bedroom sits empty.The eleven year old boy is in hospital -- against his wishes -- spending hours cut off from his family. "I'm his stepmother. He lives with me, I raise him, I take care of him. I love him. I need to know that he's okay."

We can't identify the child or his family members for legal reasons. The boy has an aggressive form of leukemia, and has been through chemotherapy before.
His parents say he suffered through it, and they decided as a family to stop the treatments.

When they brought the boy to McMaster Children's Hospital for routine tests yesterday, the Children's Aid Society seized him.Denied access to their child, the parents spent the day trying to reach him.

They finally received a ten minute phone call last night.

"He told us that he loved us and everything, but he told us that he's starting to bring up a lot now, and his spine is really really starting to hurt him again because they've started the treatment."

When the boy was taken away, his father was handcuffed and evicted from the hospital.

A CAS letter to the family says the father "threatened harm" to a CAS worker, and accused him of "traumatizing the child through the inappropriate expression of his concerns and beliefs."

Still, Niagara Centre MPP Peter Kormos believes the CAS acted far too harshly.

"CAS is inclined more often than not to work with a very heavy hand. And this sort of heavy handedness is unfair to the boy, and it's unfair to his parents."

-Peter Komos, Niagara Centre MPP (NDP)

The father denies threatening anyone, but admits to getting emotional. He's been through a lot.
Another son died only four days after birth. The mother died of a brain tumour eight years ago. All the family wants is to honour their son's wishes, and to give him quality of life.

"He won't be poked and prodded, and poked and prodded, and have to live uncivilized like right now. Live like a fugitive in the hospital with cancer. What type of life is that for a little boy to live? He's only 11 years old."

The family will be allowed to see their son Friday and through regular visiting hours throughout the weekend. And if things go well, that arrangement may be extended. But they are still planning to hold a candlelight vigil for him Sunday for Mother's Day.

Watch video

The video news continues here: Friday 9th may

http://www.canada.com/ch/chchnews/video/index.html

My letter to CHCH news copied to Peter Kormos of the NNP and John Dunne of the Foster Care Council followed this evenings show.

"Donna and Mark during the CHCH interviews with the parents of the 11 year old boy taken for treatment by the CAS I noticed body language (especially from Donna) which suggested you were in disbelief as to the story you were hearing in connection with CAS, family law and the rights of parents and their children. My question to you is this: What is it do you think we in the FR movement have been trying to tell you folks in the media all this time? Have you not got even a part of the picture before this story unfolded? What is it that is so difficult to understand when we try and tell you that the family law/parental rights situation is in a state of destructive disaster? What is is about our revelations about the CAS, parental rights and the shelter-divorce Industry/movement that you are just not getting?

I am often in dismay and disbelief myself when I find the media suggesting or inferring that we are all a bunch of kooks for trying to expose the very story that is causing you to be as shocked as you are. Perhaps you are just not listening? Or is it that we are not getting the story across properly. This story is bad enough but there is much much worse than that going on in Canada with the CAS and the family court system. I could make you stand and stare in complete disbelief (and that's what it would be-disbelief ending in no action because its simply 'not believed') at what I could tell you about the CAS-not just in this province but across the country. How about the Father of a child fighting to clear his name from the usual unfounded/false accusations of sexual abuse, who gets to the court system-by force of law-to fight the allegations and find justice-only to find the Crown then drops all charges against him-but then who, on the very cusp of exoneration, finds that while he was occupied clearing his name, his daughter was taken away by CAS and given up for permanent adoption? Or the CAS worker who offers up free brand new bicycles to young girls if they agree to falsely testify against their Fathers? And that my friends is by the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Horror stories abound alright; all of them "unbelievable" and all enough to cause you to shake your head in disbelief. Yet most times nothing gets done unless there is as dedicated an effort as the story you are now involved in comes around. Its an awful story alright but what about all the men separated from their living healthy children-for life. Surely this is a story as bad as anything? The Father being threatened with arrest and police intervention is not any surprise to divorced and separated Canadian men and Fathers. This is what happens to us all the time.

So Is it any wonder at all we FR activists regard the media as part of the problem who often seem to be in a state of total ignorant apathy and indifference? What is it that you guys don't get? The truth is right in front of you and it is virtually exemplified in the case before you. The Father and Mother of the young boy trying to live are living witnesses to the state of 'control' over the family by the system which we fight in any way we can.

Peter Kormos and John Dunne were both effusively correct in their commentary about CAS but perhaps not effusive and direct enough. We in the FR movement not only want to see the CAS controlled, investigated and even closed down; we want the members of the CAS arrested on top of it. Its really that serious.There is a scandal wrapped in multiple scandals swirling around CAS and indeed around the oxymoronnic 'family law' system itself".

Jeremy Swanson

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