Toronto too cold [Song]

Uploaded by Roger Gibbs
TORONTO TOO COLD FOR ME
By Roger Gibbs

Well, ah going back to mih country, Toronto too cold for me
I said I going back to mih country, ice storm of the century.
Last winter I nearly dead, you know the weather was really dread
45 below zero, how I survive it I ent know
Six days with no power, I had to throw 'way the food in the freezer
And the thing that is so insane, in no time at all it coming again.

Toronto too cold for me, I going back to mih country
Toronto too cold for me, this kind of living is not for me
Toronto too cold for me, you living inside like if you in jail
Toronto too cold for me, I tired freezing mih tail.

Canadians really love their ice, the way West Indians love their rice
Ice skating and ice hockey is the religion of this country
Hockey on the TV both day and night, they always showing a hockey fight
No cricket and no football, you hardly see any other sport at all
Ice fishing leaves me cold and curling is the same thing, truth be told
I barely sweep mih own house once or twice, is no way at all dat I sweeping ice.

Toronto too cold for me, I going back to mih country
Toronto too cold for me, I want some heat in mih body
Toronto too cold for me, the day does be as dark as the night
Toronto too cold for me, if you stay outside you getting frostbite.

When you first come to this country, you only thinking 'bout what you find
Said when you come to this country, you forget what you leave behind
You forget the brilliant sunshine and the beautiful scenery
You forget the balmy weather and the heat that you got for free
But when we get what we got last winter, it really make me wonder
Is it worth the price we pay if in this country we want to stay?

Toronto too cold for me, I going back to mih country
Toronto too cold for me, I going back to the sun and the sea
Toronto too cold for me, you got to put on too many clothes
Toronto too cold for me, you freezing yuh nose and freezing yuh toes.

Scientists say is global warming, this is not a one time thing
The weather we've been having is going to keep on recurring
Extremes in temperature is going make the winter colder
Very unsettled weather is going to lead to crop failure
Scientists give the warning but nobody listening
But not me, I pack mih grip and I ready to make the trip.

Toronto too cold for me, I going back to mih country
Toronto too cold for me, I pack mih ticket and I ready
Toronto too cold for me, I done with the cold and the snow
Toronto too cold for me, I going straight to Essequibo.

Toronto too cold for me, the only ice I want is inside a glass
Toronto too cold for me, I tired falling down on mih ar--
Toronto too cold for me, you can't even see the sun
Toronto too cold for me, three months of darkness ent no fun.
Toronto too cold for me, allyuh could stay and play in the snow
Toronto too cold for me, I going back to look for mango
Toronto too cold for me, and I going to look for sapodilla, and I going to look for custard apple...
[Toronto too cold for me] and  -----  and guava and soursop and mammee ----- and june plum
[Toronto too cold for me] and carambola.  Allyuh could stay and eat apple and grape but I gone
[Toronto too cold for me]
[Toronto too cold for me]

Source: The lyrics posted on this blog are often transcribed directly from performances. Although it is my intention to faithfully transcribe I do not get all the words and I have a knack for hearing the wrong thing. Please feel free to correct me or to fill in the words that I miss by dropping me a message via e-mail. I'd be forever grateful. Thanks in advance! ..............................................................................................................................


A Note From The Gull

Thank you, Roger Gibbs.    

"Patria est communis omnium parens" - Our native land is the common parent of us all. Keep it beautiful, make it even more so.

Blessed is all of creation
Blessed be my beautiful people
Blessed be the day of our awakening
Blessed is my country
Blessed are her patient hills.

Mweh ka allay!
Guanaguanare

Child Protection: We received Call because Child was sent to School with Roti.

The following story is taken from The Star. It examines the factors surrounding the "curious" situation where 41 per cent of the children and youth in the care of Toronto Children’s Aid Society of Toronto are black even though only 8.2 per cent of Toronto’s population under the age of 18 is black.

Why are so many black children in foster and group homes?
A disproportionate number of Toronto-area children in foster and group-home care are black. Advocates are blaming poverty, cultural misunderstanding and racism.
By Sandro Contenta News, Insight Laurie Monsebraaten, Social justice reporter Jim Rankin | The Star | Published on Thu Dec 11 2014.

In the Toronto area, black children are being taken from their families and placed into foster and group-home care at much higher rates than white children.

Numbers obtained by the Star indicate that 41 per cent of the children and youth in the care of the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto are black. Yet only 8.2 per cent of Toronto’s population under the age of 18 is black.

By contrast, 37 per cent of kids in the care of the Toronto CAS are white, at a time when more than half of the city’s population under the age of 18 is white.

Other figures obtained by the Star indicate the overrepresentation is provincewide.

“The gross overrepresentation of black kids in the CAS is like a modern-day residential schools system,” says Margaret Parsons, executive director of the African Canadian Legal Clinic, which advocates on behalf of the province’s 590,000 black residents.

“This is another form of racial profiling,” she says. “They’re profiling black parents in a very negative way.”

Patricia knows first-hand how cultural misunderstandings can lead to black children being removed from their homes.

She was shocked when police and a Toronto children’s aid worker came to her tidy bungalow two years ago to say her granddaughters were being taken into care.

Patricia, whose name has been changed to protect the identity of her grandchildren, had been caring for the girls for about a decade, following the death of their mother in Jamaica.



They were living a comfortable life in Toronto. “For the little one, I was the only mother she ever knew,” says the soft-spoken woman.

That all changed in 2012. Her teenage granddaughter, facing suspension at school, told the principal she would be beaten with a baseball bat if her grandmother found out.

“She told them I was going to kill her,” says Patricia, who admits she disciplined her granddaughters with a slap now and then, but denies ever having struck the girls with an object.

“West Indian children, if something is going to happen, they say: ‘Oh my mother is going to kill me.’ It’s not that her mother is going to kill her. That’s how they speak,” Patricia insists.

Patricia was charged with numerous counts of assault with a weapon, involving multiple incidents. A landed immigrant, she says she was advised by her legal aid lawyer to plead guilty to some charges to avoid possible deportation. In a blur, she agreed.

As a result of her criminal record, she lost her job as a caregiver for the elderly. Unable to pay the mortgage, she lost her home. And her granddaughters.

“Everything fell apart,” she says.

Ontario’s 46 children’s aid societies are private, non-profit corporations. They are regulated by the government and have the legal power to take children from their parents for reasons ranging from physical abuse to neglect.

There are about 23,300 children and youth in care in Ontario. Most children are returned to their parents within a year, after some form of help is provided. Those in continued need of protection are made “Crown wards.” In 2013-14, about 7,000 children and youth in Ontario were wards of the government, living in foster care or group homes, and another 1,000 were on the path to joining them.

The government remains their parent until they are adopted or turn 18. However, youth can decide to leave care at age 16.

The Toronto CAS was involved with 11,285 client families in 2013-14. It had 2,155 children in care. Another 624, over the age of 18, continued to get financial support through the agency.

The agency shared its numbers on black children in PowerPoint presentations with police, educators and black community members in private meetings across the city over the past year.

“We want to make sure that all of our community partners are comfortable with the data before we release it publicly,” says Toronto CAS spokesperson Rob Thompson. Police and schools are the largest source of CAS referrals, accounting for about 40 per cent of all calls, he says.

The Star spoke separately with people familiar with the presentations. Of children in care in Toronto, 31 per cent were born to black parents. A further 9.8 per cent of children in care had one parent who is black.

Presented with the numbers obtained by the Star, the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto confirmed Wednesday that they were accurate.

The data also showed that many of the black children in care were of Jamaican heritage.

Lawyers, black community leaders and child advocates say the overrepresentation of black children is due to cultural misunderstandings and stress and neglect created by poverty. They also believe systemic racism in the child protection system, and within the police and schools, is at play.

“We received a call because a child was sent to school with roti,” says Danielle Mitchell, a child protection worker at Peel CAS.

The teacher believed the popular Caribbean flatbread, usually filled with goat or chicken curry, was “not healthy or sustainable for this child,” Mitchell says. “And that’s the school system …”

Corrie Tuyl, manager of Toronto CAS’s north branch, says workers have told her about a school that called with a referral simply because a child was from Jamaica.

Everton Gordon, executive director of the Jamaican Canadian Association, believes police go into black homes with the same bias that results in black youth being racially profiled on the street.

“These institutions have problems with black people to begin with,” Gordon says, referring to police and schools. “The minute it’s a black family it sets off alarm bells.”

Front-line CAS workers tend to be young and inexperienced. When they see something that doesn’t conform to life in middle-class, white homes, their reaction is, “Oh my gosh, red flags,” says Danielle Mitchell, a child protection worker at Peel CAS.

A recent provincial survey of about 7,000 Ontario children who have been in care for more than one year shows that about 12 per cent are of African or Caribbean descent. Meanwhile, only about 5 per cent of Ontario’s children under age 18 are from those communities.

A 2012 report by a provincial commission into child welfare found that “the system was not responding effectively to the diversity of Ontario’s population.”

The report noted an increased risk of misunderstandings when child protection officers are called to intervene. Poverty, inadequate housing, language barriers and poor education aggravate the power imbalance these families experience, the report added.

Most children’s aid societies in Ontario don’t collect data on race. The child welfare commission recommended that ethnic background information be captured to assess how the agencies respond to diverse communities. But the government refuses to make capturing that data mandatory in a new computer database. The database will connect all 46 children’s aid societies and standardize how they collect and record information.

The few societies that have that kind of data are reluctant to talk about it.

In the United States, where black and native American children are three times more likely to be in care than white children, race-based data has been collected and publicized for years.

American studies had shown that black parents are no more likely to abuse or neglect their children than white parents. In 2010, a study prepared for the U.S. government found higher rates of child abuse or neglect among black parents.

Researchers concluded the results were influenced by the 2008 recession, which affected blacks more than whites and caused more strain on families. Poverty, it noted, is the strongest predictor of maltreatment rates.

Most children’s aid societies in Ontario don’t keep income statistics on the families they serve. The new provincial database won’t capture that information either. But local CAS officials know poverty is often a factor.

“Sometimes people don’t want to make the connection between poverty and child protection,” says David Rivard, chief executive officer for the Toronto CAS. “But there is a correlation. That’s the reality.”

A recent report on child poverty in Toronto co-authored by the agency noted that 41 per cent of children of southern and eastern African heritage are growing up poor — more than three times the rate of children with roots in the British Isles. Meantime, 26 per cent of children whose families are from the Caribbean and 25 per cent from North Africa live in poverty.

Groups serving the black community are trying to bridge the cultural divide that can land children in care. The common use of spanking to discipline children in Africa and the Caribbean, for example, can lead to astonished parents being charged with assault.

Some families have been investigated for yelling at their children, says Gordon of the Jamaican Canadian Association, who witnessed such cases when he worked for Toronto Catholic CAS in the late 1990s.

Gordon says parents who get their backs up when confronted with a CAS worker — “You want to tell me how to raise my kid?” — are branded unco-operative, heightening the chances of the child being removed.

If abuse is suspected, children are assessed by psychologists who are paid by the CAS, and parents have no say. Nor do they have much opportunity to present their stories in court.

A judge often decides to remove a child by summary judgment, a process based on written evidence, largely produced by children’s aid societies.

“If you steal a pen, you have a right to a fair trial,” says family court lawyer Thora Espinet. “But you don’t with summary judgment.”

While children’s aid societies try to place children in culturally appropriate homes, it’s not always possible.

Paul Chapman, 23, who works in the provincial child advocate’s office, was 9 years old when he and his six siblings were taken from their struggling single mother. He was placed with white foster parents. On Sundays, he missed big breakfasts with Caribbean dishes, and going to church.

He recalls one dinner when his foster parents served him perogies.

“I had no idea what the hell a perogy was. I said I’m not eating that,” says Chapman.

“I think a lot of (black) youth struggle,” he says.

“It’s because they don’t know who they are. They don’t know what to do. They kind of lose themselves. They lose their identity.”

After the Star began asking about the overrepresentation of black youth in care, the Ministry of Children and Youth Services met with CAS officials, the provincial child advocate and Parsons’ African Canadian Legal Clinic.

Children’s aid officials and the legal clinic late last month submitted a funding proposal for a project to look into why the numbers are so high and how to reduce them.

“This cannot be just another study or training program,” Parsons insists. “What I want to see is concrete, substantive change — a reduction in those numbers.”

Parsons and other advocates say the numbers won’t go down until family counsellors from their community team up with CAS workers on every protection investigation involving a black child. That’s how Texas, for example, reduced the number of black children and youth in care.

“I’m not saying there aren’t kids in our community who should be in care,” Parsons says. “But the first approach for an African-Canadian child should not be apprehension and care. And that’s what the numbers are saying to me right now.”

A pilot project in the Toronto CAS is keeping some youths out of care by referring black families at risk to a counselling service for the black community headed by therapist Sonia Mills-Minster.

The program teaches parenting skills and anger management, and connects families to black community services that deal with mental health and addiction.

Fewer than 10 of the 100 families counselled over the last three years have seen a child go into care, Mills-Minster says. Understanding the culture makes all the difference.

During a “technical briefing” with the Star last month, senior government officials said they are prepared to work with the community on training and best practices for CAS workers who investigate black families. They suggested it might require the kind of culturally sensitive approach used with aboriginal families.

Parsons says provincial leadership and action is vital.

“At the end of the day, it is about the welfare of our children,” she says. “Something is amiss. Something is fundamentally wrong and we can’t turn a blind eye anymore.”

The reporters on this story can be reached at children@thestar.ca .

..............................................................................................................................


A Note From The Gull


Will comment soon.

"Patria est communis omnium parens" - Our native land is the common parent of us all. Keep it beautiful, make it even more so.

Blessed is all of creation
Blessed be my beautiful people
Blessed be the day of our awakening
Blessed is my country
Blessed are her patient hills.

Mweh ka allay!
Guanaguanare

Review: "Targeting Lev Tahor, from Israel to Canada."

It took a while but finally, one courageous writer has accepted the challenge of catching this elusive moonbeam in his hand. While Maximilian Forte admits that "The case of Lev Tahor is a complicated one, that fragments and disperses so that an array of many different debates and conflicts, and many different realities of Canada, Israel and the international system, are simultaneously thrown up," he has at least erected for us some points from which to view the circumstances surrounding their story and an optional framework of analysis that may make the approach to this intellectual/political cluster munition less daunting for those of us who are inclined to deeper exploration. The entire post "Targeting Lev Tahor, from Israel to Canada." can be read at his blog, Zero Anthropology, as I will only provide a review here.

The author begins with "We will hunt you down." which sets the scene in Quebec where a nascent policy of cultural synchronization provided the ideal terrain upon which to pursue that stubborn anachronism, whether dangerous or not, of Lev Tahor. While the jury is still out on why exactly the hounds were first released, and at whose instigation, the energetic participants in the hunt are identified as Israel, the Montreal Jewish community and Quebec's child protection services.

In "Canada: Israel’s “North Bank”?" the author examines the Israelification of Canadian policy culminating most recently in the Canadian Prime Minister's statement to Israel's Knesset earlier this year, that anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism. He notes that this statement was a double edged sword. On the one hand, it attempted to erase an entire dissenting portion of Jewry by presenting all Jews as predisposed to the unquestioning support of Zionism, while at the same time implying a threat that all Jews must be Zionists... or else. Lev Tahor, with its True Torah, anti-Zionist stance had therefore found itself in the cross hairs of the slayers of the newest iteration of Anti-Semitism.

"The Many Instances of Lev Tahor." provides a brief overview of the community, their origins, their beliefs and why they came to be located in Canada. The author outlines the publicly stated reasons for their having been targeted by authorities in Quebec, the fear of eventually losing their children to Child Protective Services that drove them to leave Quebec and then some of them to eventually leave the country. Acknowledging the complexity of the nature of Lev Tahor’s journey and struggle, the author suggests a series of nested conflicts along different axes which their story foregrounds:

"Zionism and racism.

“Religion” or “cult”, and the homogenization of Jewry.

International relations: Israel, the US, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Guatemala.

Humanitarianism, Liberalism.

Multiculturalism.

The right to be different.

Child welfare, children’s aid services.

Parental rights versus state control.

Education, Residential Schooling, Genocide.

Media propaganda: “Jewish Taliban”.

The Quebec Charter of “secular values”.

What “freedom” does not mean in Canada."

He concludes that although "the dominant narrative pushed by governments and the media in Canada is that Lev Tahor is an extremist group, one that threatens the safety and welfare of its children, and that the conflict with Lev Tahor is really only about its children. It’s not so simple however."

"Wards of the State: Seizing Lev Tahor’s Children to “Save” Them", begins by quoting Supreme Court Justice Lynda Templeton:

“The circumstances in this case fundamentally beg the question whether the community to which the appellants belong is entitled to foster self-perpetuation by the suppression or limitation of critical thought in its children”~ Ontario Supreme Court Judge Lynda Templeton (2014/4/14).

The author explores this statement to reveal some potentially subversive interpretations. He comments that "all parenting, and all forms of socialization are about inculcating certain ideas, beliefs, norms, and practices that are deemed acceptable and appropriate, which means creating a system for an unconscious, nearly automatic rejection of alternatives," and further, that the articulation of a focus on "the perpetuation of the group through its children" raises the disturbing spectre of "removal of children, forcibly and involuntarily" which as the author reminds us, "constitutes one of the established defining principles of genocide."

The author continues the exploration of the forced removal of children in, "Humanitarian Genocide? No Apologies." by revisiting Canada's Residential Schools System and its counterparts in the Unites States and Australia. He postulates that it "was at the foundation of the “humanitarianism” that has in fact emerged as a clearly articulated policy of international intervention from these very same white settler states. The template has been preserved, and is now being globalized in its application. The template essentially consists of:

(a) racially differentiated tutors and wards;

(b) abduction; and,

(c) civilization via re-training."

He concludes by questioning what Canada's official policy of “multiculturalism” really means, if there is apparently no room for real “cultural differences”.

We've seen myth creation accomplished time after time on the international stage but "Constructing Emergency: The Production of Lev Tahor as a Danger." shows how the strategy manifests domestically. 

“It’s very saddening to see the circle of reports. The Israeli parliament sets aside time to dictate what is to be done with Lev Tahor, (as if it’s their business) they quote allegations by unverified sources (could be me…could be you…as long as someone says….) then the media quotes the allegations from the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) and the DYP [Dept. of Youth Protection] quotes them, and the Knesset ‘confirms’ those reports, the media confirms the knesset’s reports…you get the point. So now we are a ‘dangerous cult,’ because the Knesset ‘confirmed’ claims, reports, and allegations… how can it not be true, it’s the Knesset, no?…even Google agrees with them!” SOURCE

What the author argues is that until the authorities have proven their case, have provided the evidence to support the allegations, what exactly is the abuse? He provides excerpts from professionals who have conducted their own investigations and have found no evidence to prove that there is child abuse. So how exactly can the actions taken against this group be justified?

"Terror" briefly explores three sources of terror: the acute distress being experienced by the community under the constant threat of the removal of  their children and even more terrifying, the thought of losing them to a foster care system that has itself been guilty of abuse/neglect; the deliberate association of Lev Tahor with the Taliban by the Israeli press and bloggers, meant to add that incendiary, anti-extremist sentiment to the persecution of the community; and finally, the actual ongoing imprisonment of Lev Tahor in Canada, where by secretly obtained court order, the children of the community are now prevented from acquiring passports, thus effectively removing their parents' right to freedom of movement.

In "The Neocolonial Dimension" the author highlights the neocolonial relationship between Canada and Trinidad and Tobago. This could be inferred not just from the alacrity with which the latter facilitated the detention and handing over of some of the Lev Tahor members to Canadian authorities but from the Attorney General's own words where he admits that "international image" and maintaining good relations with Canada were the main impulses behind his country's unquestioning cooperation. Apparently Guatemala's jurists are not as susceptible to Canadian pheromones and preferred to be guided by the law. They did not hand over the Lev Tahor members to Canadian authorities but instead allowed those persons who had arrived on their territory, the right to remain for the three months allowable stay period.  In addition, "a local court judged that Canada’s desire to take away Lev Tahor’s children would harm their emotional stability, health and integrity, and cause them significant harm." The author speculates that perhaps Guatemala's more measured approach was a result of lessons it had learned from its own painful experience with genocide.

"In Conclusion? Losing My Values" addresses the subject of Canada's and Quebec's "values" and how Lev Tahor's experience has caused him to question again what constitutes these values. Do we really have "values" or are they just "a negation of the values of others"? Drawing on the ideas of Jean Baudrillard, the author describes this negation as "a revenge motivated by the resentment that the other has maintained some cultural particularity and sense of integrity rooted in actual substance and practice." This section is dense and thought-provoking and my summary does not do it  justice but the author concludes with his thoughts about Quebec "culture" and superimposed upon that, Lev Tahor's goal of wanting "to go backwards".  "Going backwards", the author concludes, "is probably one of the most progressive lines of thinking one can find in this place."

Do read the entire article by Maximilian Forte on his blog, Zero Anthropology - "Targeting Lev Tahor, from Israel to Canada."

"The Immigration Attorney: Guidy Mamann."

The Immigration Attorney: Guidy Mamann. | AMI Magazine | April 9, 2104 9 NISSAN 5774. pp. 188-195.

What's your specialty?

I'm a certified immigration specialist.

You're located in Ontario?

Yes, in Downtown Toronto.

Are the issues between Quebec and Ontario an immigration one?

No. The immigration issue is a matter of federal jurisdiction. The immigration issue arises from the fact that most of the parents are either American or Israeli citizens. However, because these families have been in Canada for so long now, the vast majority of their children are Canadian citizens because they were born on Canadian soil. The parents enjoy only temporary status which has been extended from time to time, The question now arises, given all the difficulties that community has faced, is where is the best place for these families moving forward, Canada or some other place?

Every country has its own immigration laws and requirements and any country that the group might consider as a future home must take into account those laws and abide by those laws.

The issue between Quebec and

---pg. 188

Ontario arises only in connection with the alleged child protection issues. Each province has its own family laws. Since the group moved from Quebec to Ontario there is a question as to which province's laws apply. The parents of the children prefer to have Ontario law apply.

Lev Tahor told me the Canadian government sent people to pick them up in Trinidad and return them to Canada. Is that true?

Yes. That's true.

Is that unusual?

I would call that highly unusual. I don't know that it's unprecedented. But I don't recall in my 28 years of practice something similar to that.

Why did the government feel that it was so important to do that?

It's hard to say, but I think the government didn't want the public to get the idea that a court order could be ignored without any consequences. It wanted the court order to be enforced and dedicated the resources that it needed. The more usual procedure would be for our government to contact the authorities abroad and inform them of our concerns and have them return the traveller(s) to Canada. But in this case the Canadian government just sent people to apprehend the children.

Is that a violation of international law?

It depends. If Trinidad was in agreement with them to let them on their soil - which I assume they were - then it's not a problem. Of course, if they did it against the will of the Trinidadian government then it would constitute an invasion of their sovereignty. But I suspect they were working together and Trinidad was willing to do anything to make Canada happy. We have a large population of immigrants from Trinidad in Canada and the countries enjoy good relations. Trinidad probably didn't want to spoil those relations and so allowed our officials to do as they saw fit.

Did they come in by Air Force plane?

I was there after the plane arrived. I didn't see the actual plane. And even if I did, I don't know if I'd be able to tell if it was a commercial aircraft or one belonging to our government or military. I understand from media sources, that it was a plane chartered by the Canadian government.

I was wondering what your feelings are about the case itself. It seems to me that the government doesn't have anything and they're trying to build up a case against these people?

I think you're on the right track. The evidence is very difficult to recognize. There are mountains of allegations, but there doesn't appear to be any evidence there that would justify these very extreme measures. What we understand is that there were two members who left the group. One of them was trying to obtain custody of his children. His wife decided to remain in the group, but he didn't want to stay. We understand that he is the source of the initial allegations of child neglect or abuse. We understand that he went to the authorities and said this is a cult and there's abuse going on. And he did that to assist his efforts to seize custody of his children from his wife. And I understand he was successful and did get custody.

When one makes such serious allegations, obviously the authorities will be summoned and will come investigate. I think the child authorities immediately ruled out the more sinister allegations, but continued to investigate. One of the major issues that arose, mind you many years after the group's initial arrival in Canada, is that these children were not being taught the Quebec school curriculum and the Quebec government was not going to tolerate that.

The child welfare authorities alleged that the children were thus receiving an inadequate education.

Quebec also alleged claims that the children were being systematically harmed. Such behaviour would be virtually unheard of in a chareidi community of which I have visited many in my life. For example, I've never known any such community, as a group, to be starving their children. It makes no sense. Children's authorities came to the Lev Tahor village many times and photographed the cupboards, fridges, and freezers and found the cupboards full. That's what I saw when I went to visit them.

One of the other concerns was about marrying the children at a very early age. There was an allegation that one girl was married at 15, when the minimum legal age is 16. This allegation has not been proven and from what I have been told can be easily disproved. Nonetheless, it

---pg. 189

was widely reported that Lev Tahor systematically married girls off at that age.

The real problem here is that the Quebec government is insisting that these families return to Quebec and do something that is impossible - that is to teach their children things that are against their deeply-held religious beliefs and conscience. The Quebec curriculum teaches that man is the product of evolution and they don't want to teach their children that. They believe that Hashem created man in his image. They don't want them taught immodest subjects required by Quebec standards. Also their language of instruction is usually Yiddish or Hebrew and not French. There certainly are some issues to be discussed here. But, in retrospect, these children should never have been taken to Quebec. They should have been taken to Ontairo, which has a much more flexible approach to eduation. In Ontario, parents are free to home school thier children and are not bound to a strict curriculum like in Quebec. Obviously, this is a much better environment for these children to be educated in. The problem is that when Quebec authorities started enforcing their education laws a year or two ago, the Lev Tahor parents took it upon themselves to remove the children to Ontario where they could choose their own curriculum for their children.

This is when the trouble really began. Quebec chased them to Ontario. The group leaders believed they should have a right to live in Ontario. Unfortunately, Quebec pursued them to Ontario and felt committed to stand strong and prove its point that these children are subjects of the Quebec government and should be educated and "protected" in Quebec. That's a matter of politics which should never be a part of a child protection analysis.

These parents are just like all of us. They love their children. They feed their children. They educate their children. The contention that their children are not being educated properly is so ridiculous that it's hard to listen to. When I was there, I had a meal with one of the families. I bentched after the meal from my iPhone. One of the children was intrigued to see me bentching from my iPhone. He must have been six years old or so and so cute. A big smile, long peiyos and very friendly. He asked me if I had the Torah on my iPhone. I showed him that I did. He got so excited. His father said, "He knows the whole thing by heart." I said, "There's no way that's possible." The father insisted. So I randomly picked a posuk to start, and the child continued reading by heart. I was shocked. I repeated this twice. All three times the little boy continued reading from memory from the random passage, from different parshios, that I randomly selected on my iPhone. The boy's father told me that all of his boys are capable of doing that. Which Jewish father wouldn't beam with pride? Their level of education is extraordinarily intense. These are children who devote all of their time to study. Their parents choose to teach them certain things and not other things. I think that's what all parents do, concentrate on the good and avoid the bad.

The kids have never suffered from this type of Torah-intense education. They're self-sufficient. They're not on welfare, They're not on the street begging for money. Their parents know how to teach their children within their own community and that education serves them very well. This is a peace-loving community that isn't involved in criminal activities or immoral conduct. They're very social people. They're

--pg. 190

people who believe in a pure lifestyle, unhindered by some terrible influences that many of our children are subjected to today. They choose to live in a small community "on the farm" and teach their children that which we've been taught for thousands of years.

There's no question that they have made many, many more efforts to cooperate with the Quebec government. It looks like the Quebec government is determined to have its way with these children, at any cost. I have no doubt if these children would stay in Ontario they'd have no problems at all. They could continue to be taught in the way of Torah and mitzvos and it would be just great. A lot of their neighbours in Chatham are very supportive. They make absolutely no trouble in the wider community.

For some bizarre reason, Quebec wants them back, even though these families have found a wonderful community to settle in Ontario. It would be hard to fathom that somehow these children would be in peril if they'd be allowed to remain in Ontario. It's just impossible to believe that Ontario cannot ensure the well-being of these children as well as Quebec can. We have as good as set of child laws in Ontario as they have in Quebec. And whether they learn evolution or not is not in any way a justification to say that these children are in need of protection and separation from their parents.

--pg. 191

Is Quebec crossing a legal line?

That's for the courts to decide. But I will say that we understand that child welfare organisations need to be able to enforce child protection laws. We understand that Quebec doesn't want to appear emasculated publicly. They were dealing with this whole community and now they disappear to Ontario. I understand their nose might be out of joint for that. However, this is not a community where they found children tied up in basements. I'm not sure if Quebec crosses a line. I'm an immigration specialist, not a child law specialist. But Quebec could easily have said to Ontario that if for whatever reason Ontario is more compatible for them, that's fine. Here's the summary of what we have found, these are things you should be looking at, deal with it. I'm sure Ontario would have gladly done that. Quebec is trying to make a point that they must be returned to Quebec when it is not in the best interest of the children to do so. The law in Canada is very clear that the best interest of the children must always be a primary consideration in any ruling that affects children. It does not appear that this is what Quebec is doing here.

The members of this community have found a beautiful, picturesque, and friendly place in Chatham where they are allowed to have more say in the way they want to educate their children. And, at the end of the day, that's what we're really talking about. None of these other sensationalized allegations have borne any kind of credibility.

When I first saw this story about the Lev Tahor in the media, it broke my heart. Our Jewish DNA is 99.9% the same. We keep the Torah, we want to teach our children our heritage of thousands of years, we don't want them to be influenced by negative sources, and we want them married off to the right person. The only thing that distinguished us is a political one. It has nothing to do with the welfare of our children. The Lev Tahor believe that we Jews should wait for the Mashiach to arrive before returning to Israel, The vast majority of Jews, including myself, strenuously disagree and believe that Israel is ours and needed to be reclaimed immediately, especially after seeing six million perish in the Shoah. The group's opposition to Zionism is the only difference between them and mainstream Judaism. Yet our Jewish DNA remains 99.9% the same.

Someone told me an allegation that if someone is out of line with their rules they take a kid from one home and put him in another or lock him up in a basement. Do you think there's any truth to that?

Was that allegation made in Quebec or Ontario?

I think in Quebec.

When I was in Chatham all I saw were small above ground cottages. I can't say, but I'd be surprised if any buildings in Quebec had a basement. I'm a lawyer. By training I don't believe anything until I see proof because I have

--pg. 192

seen so many trials where parties allege something that is later proven to be manifestly untrue. Do I have any proof that this did not occur? Absolutely not. Do I have any proof it didn't? Absolutely not. However, would it be consistent with what I've seen in the community? Not at all.

If we're talking about a single child who was seen to have been punished inappropriately once or twice by his parents, that  child and his parents need to be addressed according to the law. They should be brought to court and the allegations proven so that we can deal with it. But I don't believe that allegation is one that is systemic, that all of Lev Tahor do this kind of thing. The parents can be counseled and could receive culturally appropriate training. We don't have to take their kids away. I categorically do not believe that this is a widespread problem because it's inconsistent with their values. The children I saw were all friendly and seemed very well-adjusted. And if there is such an allegation, let it be brought be brought to court and dealt with on an individual basis and not on a wholesale basis.

I said the irony is that they say these people don't have normal feelings towards their children, yet they abandoned their home for their children.

I find it shocking how quickly one Jew can believe that a whole group of other Jews - religious Jews - is behaving in a manner completely contrary to our core values. So many have refused to give their fellow Jew the benefit of the doubt. Some have already passed judgement when the allegations have not even been brought to court. It is a very sad state of affairs. We must learn not to be so quick to judge.

I have four daughters of my own. I would never ever try to help parents whom I believe are harming their children. Why would I defend them if I believed that story? When I was in the village, many children interacted lovingly with their moms and dads. They behaved completely normal. When I pulled up they ran to my car very inquisitively. These are normal, everyday children. It bothers me when people who aren't familiar with frum communities are quick to judge based on their appearance and "odd" lifestyle. I can't blame them so much but it's hard for me to believe that Jews, who know these types of communities, can jump to such conclusions so quickly with the rest of the world. I'm wondering if such Jews, including some of our Jewish leaders are not doing a great disservice to our community. Unless they've been to the community themselves, I don't see how they can reach such conclusions.

Why is this community facing hostility?

There are other orthodox sects which are anti-Zionist. However, they do not pose a serious existential threat to Israel since they are so insular. They don't really seek to recruit from outside their ranks. However, Lev Tahor's Rebbe is a chozer b'teshuvah and welcomes all Jews. So theoretically speaking, he would

--pg. 192

constitute a much greater threat to Israel since the pool of recruits is huge.

How much do you think Israel is involved?

The government of Israel is under attack from everywhere - geographically, economically, from every corner. I suppose it cannot be too comforting to see Jews abroad espousing anti-Israeli sentiment.

I would suggest that the government of Israel's number one objective is to provide safe harbour to Jews all over the world, regardless of political affiliations. I don't think we get to choose as a nation which Jews we protect and which we don't. It bothers me to hear that some Jews are worth protection and others, not so much simply because of their political views, I am as strong a Zionist as you can find, but politics will not prevent me from coming to the rescue of a fellow Jew in need.

Is there a point when we can get American congressmen involved to say Canada is violating human rights?

I think we can do so immediately, since many of the Lev Tahor members are, in fact, American citizens. Right now, one couple had their four children taken away when they got back from Trinidad, There's no evidence at all those children were being abused or neglected. The parents have never been accused of harming their children. These are people who spent every waking moment caring for their children. It's hard to believe that a country like ours has now basically made these people captives in Canada because they don't want to teach their children the Quebec curriculum.

Where did they put these children?

Neither the parents nor I know. They were taken away suddenly, without even a change of clothing. I had to take some bags of clothes from Chatham and kept them in my car for a few days until local child welfare authorities authorized the change of clothing. No one in Lev Tahor knows where they are.

I understand that's what you do when the parent is highly abusive. But that's not the case here.

Are they in a Jewish home?

I have no idea. But even if they were, I don't know how comforting that would be for the children. It might not be providing them any comfort at all. Every small child would be traumatized by being separated from their parents' home and placed in a stranger's home.

Were any allegations of abuse ever proven?

I have not seen read or heard anything to that effect.

So why were they taken away?

The false allegations made against them brought the children's aid people there. They came in with a very suspicious eye and then centered more and more around the educational curriculum.

I think taking away children under these circumstances is meant more to make a statement about the authority of the Quebecois government than to help the children. This is a government that is ready to close a convenience store if the immigrant owner cannot speak French. This is a government that needs to assert its will for whatever social engineering policy it has.

But actually the Ontario government locked them up?

Quebec ran to Ontario and said they have jurisdiction over these children. The law in Canada is that when two provinces claim jurisdiction over a child, the province in which the child is "habitually resident" will prevail. But in this particular case, the judge said even though the children were physical residents of Ontario they are habitual residents of Quebec and under its jurisdiction. That's the only decision the Ontario court made and that decision is currently under appeal since the legal issues in this case are a bit more complicated and technical.

Do you think there's anti-Semitism involved?

It's hard to say if it's anti-Semitism or a fear of the unknown. To some, these are strange looking people with strange ways...

Do you think religious persecution is involved?

It's hard to say. I'd say they're trying to make everybody in Quebec buckle down to the way they see the world. And that includes members of minority religions.

Right now they're making this charter in Quebec where they won't allow people who wear symbols of religious expression to work in the government - like a cross or a kippah. This is social engineering gone crazy.

Crazy or illegal?

We have a charter of rights which guarantees everybody freedom of religion. I believe that charter allows us to teach our children our way of life as long as it's not harming the children. I do believe there is an element of religious persecution here. These are people that just want to go about their business on their own and not teach their children certain things. And I think they should have a right to do that.

Don't you find it offensive that a person is judged by the group he's in rather than the actions he's involved in? How can they say because they have evidence against one family all the other families must be treated in the same way? Where does our legal system ever allow that to happen?

Where should they go from here?

First of all, most of these people are lawful temporary residents here in Canada. If they decide they don't want to stay here, they should be allowed to go back where they came from. If there's evidence that these children were abused, that has to be brought up to a hearing. We are still a country of laws. In each and every case where there are accusations, the state is obligated to prove it. The government's burden of proof is at a very high level because we are talking about the threat of taking away a person's greatest possession - their children.

--pg. 194

If these people decide they want to go back to their country of nationality whether it's Israel or the United States, the Canadian children's welfare authorities simply need to call the children's aid society in Israel and tell them that these people are inbound and that their files will be shared since they are concerned. And that's it. Some of these people are sick and tired of the intense scrutiny and intrusion into their lives here. If they want to go leave Canada, they should be given the opportunity to do just that.

If they have some hard evidence of wrongdoing, let them use the legal process against them as individuals like they would for anyone else. The idea that this community on a wholesale level abuses and neglects children is absolute nonsense.

The other thing that bothers me is the idea that this group is describes as "Jewish Taliban." Taliban are people that don't tolerate any views other than their own and they see their obligation to make everyone out there believe as they do. They kill those "infidels" who stand in their way. This has nothing to do with the values of these people. They don't go about trying to persuade people that theirs is the only way. Besides for women's style of dress choice, there's nothing similar between them and the Taliban. Jews and non-Jews have seized on that and said because they're the Taliban they have the right to take their children.

I've never seen anything like this. For somebody to tell me a chareidi community was starving their children - I even heard an allegation they were hanging children from the trees or something. It's frightening, I'm afraid that there's a common sentiment running through this case and the rest of the Jewish community is standing by saying we won't help them because they don't support the state of Israel. That is wrong.

What happened in court on Friday?
There were actually two different court hearings. In Chatham, the appeal heard the battle of the provinces. The parents of the affected children appealed the lower-court decision that the children should be returned to Quebec.

At the same time, in Toronto, I was arguing for the release of three adults who were arrested at home on Wednesday by immigration officials. The arrests had nothing to do with child protection issues. They were related only to their immigration status which had run out and resulted in removal orders. Unfortunately we didn't have sufficient time to find bondspersons who could sign for them so none was released.

It's sad since one is the father of 10 children, 8 of whom are Canadian-born. The other is the 19-year old father of two children who is scheduled for removal to Israel on April 10th. The third is a 29-year old mother of 9 children, 8 of whom were born in Canada. She is still nursing her youngest child, We were able to arrange to have her baby taken to the detention facility to stay with her so she could continue to nurse him.

Have you run out of legal options for them?
Absolutely not. I think the one thing you can blame the community for is not being all that worldly. They don't know how our legal system works, They don't know how things are handled in this world. And they make mistakes. But they didn't make mistakes with evil intentions. They were afraid for their children and they ran like little children. An adult would hire a lawyer and go to court to prove their innocence. They just ran out of fear. But that just means they need to be taught how this system works. That's why I'm here.

Note: This interview was not published online by AMI Magazine but was transcribed from image files of their printed magazine which were uploaded by Miriam Helbrans. As the community and their supporters face the developments expected in the week ahead, I felt that this interview should be read by as wide an audience as possible. I hope that AMI Magazine will understand my intent and not have any objections. This blog is not for profit and not affiliated with any organisation. If you do have an objection, please tell me so via the website of Miriam Helbrans since this is the only way that I will know that you really do represent AMI. I will remove your content immediately. My apologies for any errors.

Lev Tahor: "Fear can cause unwise actions."

The letter "Fear can cause unwise actions." which I have pasted at the bottom of this page was written last Sunday to the editor of the Chatham Daily News. For me, it appeared like another candle being lit in the darkness. There is a vigil being kept by voices that are thankfully not shrill and bloodthirsty. There are a few more like these available online and I have been trying to collect them all. I imagine that there are many other people who are not speaking out but who are also experiencing the disquiet which I have been trying to work through here. I hope also that behind the scenes, others are witnessing as they stand alongside the community. Fear is part of the disquiet - fear within and without that something is very wrong.

Yesterday I read the document, "With Liberty and Justice for All...? The Trial and Prosecution of Rabbi Shlomo Helbrans." By Yacob Y. Zick, 1997.

I assure you that you will not regret also taking the time to read it because it is my belief that it sets the record straight on this matter at least. It is absolutely, absolutely essential reading for those following the Lev Tahor case, especially those who are not content to accept without question, the stories that have been handed to us thus far. This document provides credible descriptions of events as they unfolded in the community and the courts before, during and after the 1994 conviction of Rabbi Helbrans in the USA for kidnapping and supplies documentary evidence to prove that justice was not served, but instead energetically and maliciously perverted.

The entire document is arresting. I am sharing below, two statements by credible witnesses to the events. Their assessments should make us all think twice, because if these statements can also be made about this present situation in Canada, then we are in a very bad place as a society. If this situation is not resolved with justice for all, then another group of people will be fully justified in asking questions about genocide. We know that this question is now being examined in relation to the Canadian First Nations people who were direct victims of Canada's Residential Schools and survived to tell their horrific stories of a systematic attempt to break and bury an unwanted culture. "Forcibly  transferring children of one group to another group" is listed among the acts of genocide included in Article II of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide. This activity is  not something that can ever again be taken lightly and hopefully today there is a new breed of Canadians standing guard to ensure that we do not get to the point where victims asking for justice are again victimised by courts finagling the guilty away from a moral and legal interpretation of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide. Violence on this scale is never accidental.  In this case unfolding now before us, can conspiracy, incitement, attempt and complicity be proven?

I repeat again that it is not that we do not want all our children to be safe and loved. This is a given. And we also support the authorities' responsibility to investigate allegations that any residents of this country are endangered. What is causing the disquiet in this case is that some of us are not convinced by the evidence, or rather, the lack thereof, that this situation warranted the persecutory and penalising actions that have been taken thus far by the authorities. Those of us who are increasingly aware that the law does not always deliver justice are not about to offer unconditional respect and acquiescence to the rulings of any courts. This is ultimately not an adversarial stance but an effort to arrive at some position that is just. As Bernard Fryshman urges below, it is right and fitting that people should be thinking, reviewing, writing and asking....particularly asking. Barring the uncovering of any sinister motives, a transparent and positive outcome for all will prove that all of our voices had the same motivation - the courage to err on the side of the children.

"Rabbi Barry Kupperson, Religious Zionist leader writes:

"In my personal and community life I am a true Zionist. The differences between the views of Rabbi Helbrans and my own are vast, literally at the extreme ends of religious Jewry. He strongly opposes my Zionist philosophy and the better part of his books are dedicated to fighting the whole concept of Zionism. Similarly I sharply oppose most of his views.

However, even I must say!

As a Jew and Zionist I am alarmed! The Israeli aspirations of religious persecution have pained me for a long time. It hurts me to see how secular and even 'religious national' journalists conduct slanderous campaigns against religious Jews. These articles - in my opinion - are written in a manner which can almost rival the Nazi 'Shtirmer' by Julius Streicher of the pre-Holocaust era.

I am extremely perturbed and distraught, not only by what was done to Rabbi Helbrans, but by the entire degrading slander which Israeli secular society incites against the religious factions. Is this what I have sacrificed my very being for? Is this why I have donated to every conceivable Israeli organization for the past twenty five years? This is in total contradiction to the good and beauty which I believed and still believe Israeli society to possess.

I know that many Israelis are irreligious and that the government is controlled by the secular parties. I still believe, however, that Zionsism represents the adherence to the Jewish Nation. That is what I preach and believe!

If, however, official government organisations such as the Israeli Consulate, in conjunction with the Israeli press, can organize such a libel --p. 59

and then ship it to a foreign country...as was done in this case...then I must reexamine this assumption and question myself whether Zionism still represents adherence to the Jewish nation." --p 60

SOURCE

"It was not circumstances which led to an innocent man being convicted of kidnapping to a jail term and finally to the verge of deportation. It was people. Powerful people, and unfriendly people. I am convinced that law alone will not suffice to undo some of the harm inflicted on Rabbi Shlomo Helbrans. Rather it will be people of good will, concerned over the train of justice visited on Rabbi Helbrans, who will make a difference. Hence this review. Hopefully, it will get people to think, to review, to write and to ask. Particularly to ask." ----Bernard Fryshman SOURCE

Letter to the editor.
Chatham Daily News | Sunday, March 23, 2014
Fear can cause unwise actions.

Sir: I was interested in Greg Van Moorsel’s column “Jewish sect far from persecuted” in March 21 issue of The Chatham Daily News. He’s writing about the 200 members of Lev Tahor, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, who suddenly arrived in Chatham last November. I have spoken to these people in town and I find them to be quiet and gentle.

I don’t know much about their background. According to the CBC, which did a program about them on Fifth Estate in February, the group’s name means Pure Heart. They were fleeing from Quebec because, they said, their religious studies were at odds with Quebec’s curriculum. This is understandable because Quebec’s laws are a law unto themself. Also it seems the Quebec government was accusing Lev Tahor of neglecting their children, forcing girls to marry under the age of 16 and not letting the children receive adequate education. The Quebec youth protection services were determined to take a group of children away and put them in foster homes which would have been very traumatic to the poor youngsters. Yet none of these allegations have been proven in court.

I am not sure about the legal implications and at this point I don’t really care! I’m sure Justice Stephen Fuerth went by the law – that is if a judge in Ontario has the legal authority to hear a child-protection case begun in Quebec. But my heart bleeds for those dear children, some of whom are apparently in hospital on hunger strikes. Others have carted to western Canada and to Trinidad and Tobago en route to Guatemala. They must be terrified and we must pray they will recover. Now they have offended many by wearing yellow Stars of David, the symbol that Hitler's Nazis used to mark Jews for torture and death.

OK. These people have different beliefs from us. They dress differently. They have done some strange things but to the casual observer they seem to be gentle people. Israel doesn’t like them and they don’t like Israel.

But a lot of us don’t agree with many other people. But how would you react if police cruisers come speeding along the 401 from Quebec and Chatham-Kent police help to search your homes. Perhaps you would be angry or maybe just fearful. You do some strange things when you’re scared.

These people had come here – to Chatham – to what they believed was their New Dawn Settlement, the name of the community where we welcomed runaway slaves. Those runaway American slaves were probably terrified by the unusual. Just like the Lev Tahor were scared by the way in which they were treated. So they started doing unwise things, like leaving the country. People do foolish things when they face fear. Charles Stanley once wrote that “Fear stifles our thinking and actions. It creates indecisiveness that results in stagnation. I have known talented people who procrastinate indefinitely rather than risk failure. Lost opportunities cause erosion of confidence and the downward spiral begins."

There must have been a better way of handling this. Not armed police. Thank God some people I know actually visited this community and spoke to them in love. If everybody had done this, things might be very different.

I’m sorry to be so long-winded but I have been musing and praying about this situation since it all began.

Stephen J. Beecroft

Chatham

Stephen Beecroft, don't ever lose your humanity.

Powerful as God: the Children's Aid Societies of Ontario.

 Please visit the following websites if your family is under attack.

www.brainsyntax.com
www.crpa.ca

www.fixcas.com

www.ontariocfa.com

www.ombudsman.ca

www.canadacourtwatch.com

blakout.ca invites anyone who feels bullied and silenced by an authority figure to speak out by telling the story that has damaged their life.

The video below is the trailer for the 2011 documentary "Powerful as God: the Children's Aid Societies in Ontario." Produced in the Documentary Media (MFA) Program, Ryerson University 2011. © blakout,ca 2011. Ryerson University Research Ethics Board facilitated ethics oversight for the documentary. "Powerful As God", won the MADA award at Commffest Film Festival in 2012.

The full length documentary can be viewed at:

 http://www.blakout.ca/htm/viewthedoc.php#.UzTdpYU09K0

Can we trust the Children’s Aid Society?
From The Arena  | March 15, 2013 21:09.
Uploaded by curtisjade1

See More News Videos from Sun TV about
Children’s Aid Society.

Dorian Baxter: First man in Ontario to successfully sue the CAS.
Uploaded by FACsNiagara

Court Watch on Vimeo.

"The Rev Stephen Rudd from Hamilton, Ontario speaks about his experience with the CAS [Children' Aid Society] during his 25 years as a church Minister. He has seen countless horror stories of children and families being abused by Ontario's privately operated CAS agencies.

Rev Rudd believes that the government of Ontario must take the job of protecting children out of the hands of unaccountable CAS agencies and put this task under the direct control of government ministries who would be accountable."

Lev Tahor: "untested before a court".

“I am entirely satisfied that the allegations, although untested before a court, of sexual, physical and emotional harm, and deprivation of the rights of the children to an education are sufficiently grave and serious that intervention of a court is immediately warranted,” the judge said, adding that these children were at risk of suffering emotional or psychological harm.----Superior Court Justice Lynda Templeton.  SOURCE

This post [started March 23, 2014] will be ongoing and will be written as it is written. It will consist of notes reflecting my random thoughts about the Lev Tahor case. It will end as it ends. I want peace and love and justice for all, even when that is what we often continue to work against.

Random Thoughts From My Disquiet.

"Documented allegations."

The wheel is still in spin and with it my feelings about the Lev Tahor case. Despite the flurry around and within, I have not budged one inch from the conclusion which I shared when I first commented on this matter. My position remains that despite the pressure of public opinion, I cannot, and must not, at this point in time and with the evidence that has been made available to us, support any of the allegations which have been made against the Lev Tahor community.

Somehow, despite energetic and intrusive investigations, those allegations of abuse have just stubbornly refused to upgrade themselves to facts. To their credit, the news reporters, though their biases are revealed in other ways, have all been united in respecting that status, and have been careful to use "alleged" and "allegations of" when referring to the stories of abuses under investigation. Sometimes I have seen "documented allegations" used, but that is as far as the envelope has been pushed towards giving the allegations more authority.

I don't feel that I have to apologise for my sluggishness, for the fact that I am handicapped by the lack of evidence. Like the lame child in the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, my disability has prevented me from going the way of all the other fleet-footed children who danced gaily behind the Piper and were lost. Also like that child left behind, I cannot help but wonder about the destination from which I have thus far been excluded. Would my disquiet have been erased there?

"Think about the Children!"

I know that accusers, whatever their motivations, are free to make the wildest allegations without evidence and even anonymously. I understand the job of the authorities to act upon those allegations, to investigate and to ensure by finding, or not finding evidence that either the accused are guilty or not guilty. But are the authorities allowed to penalise without evidence? Is this how child protection works in this country? Are the accused guilty until proven innocent? And can children's protective services in Canada really bear the scrutiny now that it is in the spotlight? In the course of my reading I have come across dozens and dozens of articles about the nightmares that have been created by child protection services in this country, and how many innocent guardians and/or their entire families have been traumatised sometimes beyond repair.

Here are a few links if you can handle the disquiet:


Court Watch on Vimeo.

"The Rev Stephen Rudd from Hamilton, Ontario speaks about his experience with the CAS [Children' Aid Society] during his 25 years as a church Minister. He has seen countless horror stories of children and families being abused by Ontario's privately operated CAS agencies.

Rev Rudd believes that the government of Ontario must take the job of protecting children out of the hands of unaccountable CAS agencies and put this task under the direct control of government ministries who would be accountable."

Former director of the Children’s Aid Society of the Districts of Sudbury speaks out. Larry Killens. Letter to the Editor – January 2012. Ontario Commission for Accountability.


The Trailer for the deeply disturbing documentary -  "Powerful as God: The Children's Aid Societies of Ontario." | About the documentary.
Recently added [Via Yakov]: Children’s Aid horrors. By Michael Coren | The Interim | Thursday, April 24, 2014.

Fatal Care Series. The results of a six-month investigation by the Edmonton Journal and Calgary Herald into Alberta's child welfare fatalities. National Newspaper Awards for investigative reporting and news photography.

Barbara Kay: The problem with Children's Aid Societies. By Barbara Kay| National Post | February 27, 2013.

Alberta reveals hundreds more children died while receiving provincial care. Roundtable to review deaths in foster care. By Karen Kleiss. Edmonton Journal, January 9, 2014.

New minister Bhullar says inquiry into deaths of kids in government care not needed. By James Wood, Calgary Herald December 12, 2013

Families will be free to speak about children who have died in care: Alberta human services minister. By Karen Kleiss. Edmonton Journal, February 28, 2014.

The unlawful practice of social work in Ontario by unregulated CAS workers who provide services to the public under false pretence. Published by Vernon Beck, Child and Family Justice Advocate. Working paper – July 1, 2013.

UNDERSTANDING CHILDREN’S AID: MEANING AND PRACTICE IN ONTARIO CHILDREN’S AID SOCIETIES, 1893 - 1912 by Michael Reid. 

A Thesis Submitted to the Department of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts Canadian Studies and Indigenous Studies, Trent UniversityJanuary 2009 © Copyright by Michael Reid, December 2008.

"There's A Kind of Hush."

I need to hear some discussion about the "documented allegations" and the contents of the unsealed transcripts released thus far and how they have advanced the case of the accusers. Who has asked aloud, apart from the lawyers for the media, why there was secrecy in the first place? These are the same lawyers who successfully petitioned to have some of the court transcripts unsealed. 

I agree completely with Judge Sheindlin who said:

"....closed courtrooms protect two things – bad judges and bad lawyers.
“They also protect bad institutions that serve those courts, such as social services,” she continued. “They [cameras] should be there as the norm. If you have a specific exclusion, then you make it.”

When finally the transcripts were partially unsealed, we got to read about such pertinent revelations as the "odd silence" heard by the social workers visiting the abandoned Lev Tahor compound. Apparently that "odd silence" has also drowned out the voices that should be asking questions. Apart from the quietly or rabidly convinced, I imagine that the undecided concerned are silently thinking thoughts like: "Where there is smoke, there is fire." "What if it turns out that they are guilty?" "What do we really know about this religious community?" What if they really are a dangerous cult?" "For the sake of the children, we just have to back off, cross our fingers and let justice take its course."

The problem for me is that in this case I find those doubts less disturbing than the "odd silence" that floods my brain whenever I ask myself the question, "Upon whom does the burden of proof rest and have they convinced me beyond a reasonable doubt that they were justified in ordering the removal of people's children?"

Thundering also is the "odd silence" from the legal luminaries and the lack of their enlightening commentary on this case. If, for whatever reasons, they cannot risk being critical at this point, then can they at least reassure us that we should not let our hearts be troubled? Instead, the few who have commented, jumped nimbly on to musings about the terrain of the ongoing chase and how domestic and international law could be used by the hunted or hunter to find refuge or to enable capture. Another reverently espoused the need for secrecy in these cases. With what we know about the appalling actions of child protection services in Canada, I think that secrecy is the last thing that we need in this case. Where are the lawyers who can explain to us how it is that the law presides over the removal of children from their families BEFORE allegations of abuse have been proven? 

I keep wanting to go back to the court order issued in Quebec on Wednesday 27 November 2013 and later, almost as if under pressure, upheld in Ontario. Upon what evidence was that original order to remove the children based? What was it exactly that made the Quebec welfare authorities describe the situation for some children as "serious". How do the rest of us make the leap from things like foot fungus to separation of children from their parents? 

As I said before, couldn't all of this have been resolved with the children left in situ? Can anyone explain to those of us uninitiated in the ways of the law, how the situation "establishes a presumption of neglect against children."

Is anyone sharing my disquiet? Has anyone heard the wider and odder silence? Is there nothing here to be discussed about Canada's handling of this case? Are we looking away until there is a new distracting development in a far away place called Guatemala?

"Objects in the rearview mirror are closer than they appear."

Sharpened now by hindsight is the significance of the 2007 exodus of the fifteen Mennonite farming families from Quebec. What was the disquiet that compelled them to make the drastic decision to abandon their beautiful farms and the solid connections which they had made with the community? Which authority took care then to report with equally dramatic concern on the "odd silence" which their absence must have left upon the landscape of Roxton Falls, east of Montreal?

Like the Lev Tahor community, they also were not adhering strictly to the Quebec curriculum. Because of their religious beliefs, they also could not in good conscience teach their children about ideas anathema to them. It was also alleged that authorities had threatened to remove their children and put them in foster homes.

When they fled to Alexandria, Ontario, where the laws are more accepting, they left behind the homes and farms in which they had invested their labour, love and hopes. Even though the Mayor of Roxton Falls did not want to lose the Mennonites, even though he had praised their contribution to the community and had pleaded on their behalf to Education Minister Michelle Courchesne to allow their school to stay open, eventually they had no choice but to uproot and leave.

See here,  here and here.

"We hoped to grow old here," a tearful Ron Goosen, one of the Mennonites, told CBC News on Thursday. "We have our burial plots and we hoped to be buried here, but it doesn't look that way."

To be continued...