The loss of Ontario’s Children’s Advocate will have far-reaching effects.
Last week, the Ford Government scrapped the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth as part of its fall economic update.
Terri Thomas-Vanos is the Executive Director at Chatham-Kent Children’s Services.
“It’ll affect not just Chatham-Kent Children’s Service, but provincially it’ll be a loss of an independent voice to represent the best interests of children, youth, and families,” Thomas-Vanos explains. “We understand the work of the Advocate’s office is being transferred to the office of the Ombudsman, but that’s an arm of the government, so it’s not that same kind of independent, autonomous function.”
The Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies has said the move will likely have the most noticeable impact on children from minority and Indigenous communities.