October 4, 2025

It’s an unimaginable scenario for any parent: being separated from your child when they need you most, especially when the very system meant to support vulnerable families is the one creating the divide.

My six-year-old son, Bennett, who is complexly disabled, was apprehended by the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) while I was in the hospital recovering from severe gallbladder complications.

Bennett was taken on August 28th from the Children’s Hospital. This happened despite a clear, family-led discharge plan that had the support of the entire hospital team and all involved professionals. My brother was ready to take interim-guardianship , and on the morning of Bennett’s apprehension, the doctor gave me the okay for my brother to pick him up that afternoon. MCFD acted before he arrived.

A Denial of Care and Family

The Ministry chose to completely remove Bennett and place him in a resource I had declined in writing just three days prior. My reasons for declining included concerns that the home, which had never housed a child under 12, was inappropriate, unprepared, and couldn’t provide adequate medical support.

On August 27th, I signed a stand-by guardianship order appointing my brother as the step-in person, but MCFD claimed the form was invalid. Even when my brother was officially granted the order on September 2nd, MCFD never recognized it.

In the wake of Bennett’s removal, we have faced what feels like calculated attempts to cut off all of his supports:

Schooling Disruption: Bennett was pulled from his private school for children with Autism (Fawkes Academy) and put into the public system, seemingly overnight. This is a massive flag, as it requires comprehensive planning that I and my family were not included in, and Bennett has an elopement risk.

Access was restricted: After a six-hour call on the first day (September 10, 2025) I was quickly limited to one-hour FaceTimes or calls with my son.

Physical Concerns Ignored: After noticing “big” and “colorful” bruises on Bennett’s shins and arms during in-person visits on September 11th and 13th, I took photos. When my support network reported these concerns—MCFD’s duty to investigate —the Ministry responded by blocking me, Bennett’s paediatrician, and anyone involved with me from having access or communication with my son. An advocate in the meeting called this “clear retaliation“.

Lack of Transparency: MCFD has presented no evidence of abuse and there has been a “huge lack of transparency” around the rationale for Bennett’s removal.

Systemic Failure and the Path Forward

The situation for Bennett has been described as a “systematic removal of everyone in his life“. He has lost “everyone and everything he knows” , and I’m now given a script I have to use with him, preventing us from speaking freely. It is “very strange totalitarian behavior“.

The consensus among the advocacy groups in the meeting is that there is no rationale or transparency about the decisions being made.

My legal team is submitting a document to the Director’s Counsel that counters the points the ministry made in their rationale for Bennett’s removal. With the support of my advocates, I am also working on creating a concise timeline with all supporting documentation to be given to the transitioning Opposition Critic for her to pass on to the newly appointed Critic and the Minister’s office.

The goal is to get diplomatic resolution first, with the option to raise the issue in the legislature or to the media later if needed.

My hope is that through public awareness and continued advocacy, my voice—and Bennett’s—will finally be heard, and my family can be made whole again.

#MyFightForBennett #SpecialNeedsParenting #DisabilityRights #MCFD #ChildWelfare #FamilySeparation #ComplexNeeds #JusticeForBennett #Apprehension #Advocacy