(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver) Senior First Nations leadership in BC are thanking Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, BC’s Representative for Children and Youth, for her recent special report detailing serious concerns about the unbalanced review carried out by Mr. Bob Plecas for the Province of BC.
The RCY’s report is titled “Implementation of the Plecas Review, Part One: Decision Time” and highlights that the Plecas Review was created without any input from Aboriginal leadership or the RCY Office.
Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, President of UBCIC, stated, “We fully support and totally commend Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond for continuing to fight for the inclusion of Aboriginal voices into highly sensitive top-level discussions around child welfare. Mr. Plecas’ complete and offensive disregard for Aboriginal input reflects an absence of a balanced perspective and indicates that his report is lacking important and essential information regarding the child welfare crisis in BC.”