The BC Métis Federation continues to protest the impending relocation of Métis foster child SS from BC to a non-Métis family in Ontario. The Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) continues to try to wrongfully remove Métis foster child SS from the Métis foster parents who have cared for this little girl for the past 3 years. This despite strong community support to have SS remain in BC with her Métis foster parents as well as the support of SS’s birth parents to have her remain in BC with her Métis foster parents. MCFD continues to ignore the importance of SS’s Métis cultural roots as it arbitrarily goes ahead with her forced relocation.
In an email to the MCFD today, BC Métis Federation President Keith Henry stated:
BC Metis Federation is our own Metis community and we continue to demand jurisdiction over our children and families of our members, such as SS. Despite the position of MCFD and that of the Director we know full well SS was customarily adopted into our community supported by her biological parents and our community.
These actions by MCFD are contrary to our laws and we demand that there is respect for our laws. The Metis agencies MCFD continues to work with have no agreements or legal recognition by our community.
We intend to fight MCFD’s heartless and illegal actions within our laws. Island Metis have no right to have any Metis ceremony on our behalf without our consent. This is the essence of the United Nations declaration on the rights of Indigenous peoples. It is incredible that MCFD interfered into our cultural practices last February 2016 by not allowing SS to attend our event and now supports an MCFD Metis agency who has no legal position to represent our members.
We fully intend to continue to explore next steps, legal and claim to the BC Human Rights Tribunal. We are back before the BC Supreme Court on Thursday and will review follow up to the Supreme Court of Canada if required.
This is one of the most traumatic exercises to remove our Metis children without our prior and informed consent. We urge an immediate stop to this and allow a better plan for SS with the proper Metis community SS is adopted from.
The BC Métis Federation urges its members to add their voices to the chorus of protest to help stop this illegal, forced relocation of Métis foster child SS to a non-Métis family .
Media Inquiries
Keith Henry, President
BC Métis Federation
#300-3665 Kingsway
Vancouver, BC V5R 5W2
Office 1-604-638-7220 | Cell 1-778-388-5013
Email k.henry@bcmetis.com
You can follow BC Métis Federation President Keith Henry on Twitter @keithhenryMetis
You can follow BC Métis Federation on Twitter @BCMétis
[ilink url=”https://bcmetis.com/wp-content/uploads/BCMF-Press-Release-September-20th-2016-MCFD-Stealing-Métis-Child-SS.pdf” style=”download”]Click here to download the press release in PDF format.[/ilink]
