To understand how deeply this situation has spiraled, here’s the timeline I’ve compiled — drawn directly from court records, professional correspondence, and MCFD’s own communications. It shows a pattern of neglecting both legal obligations and family stability:

2019

Three separate MCFD safety plans were signed requiring me to supervise all father-child interactions due to risk of harm. The father signed one plan on April 11, 2019, but never completed the required parenting/anger management programs. The MCFD file was closed after the father moved out of the country in May 2019.

May 12, 2020

I was granted sole guardianship of Bennett and full parenting responsibilities by consent order.

2019–2025

Ongoing supervised visitation structure for the father was maintained. The father admitted under oath (June 25, 2024 discovery) to uncontrollable anger, religious delusions, and risk of harm to Bennett and I.

May–August 2025: Crisis Warning and Refused Contingency

2023

Special Needs Agreement (SNA) was suggested by MCFD as the only option to access 2:1 staffing requirements and 24/7 support, as recommended by Bennett’s physicians.

May–July 2025

I notified MCFD in advance that she was unwell and facing urgent medical issues, requesting contingency planning for Bennett’s care if I were hospitalized. MCFD consistently responded, “we will cross that bridge when we get there”.

May–August 2025

I raised written concerns about THE House (the proposed resource), detailing that the facility was not trained in G-tube care, lacked nursing delegation, and could not safely manage Bennett’s complex needs. I emphasized that the family-led plan was safer and less disruptive.

May 2025

Eastern House staff initially communicated they did not have the staffing or proper training to accept Bennett. They later reversed this and agreed to take him under MCFD pressure despite the earlier denial.

July 26–27, 2025

I was hospitalized at Eagle Ridge (gallbladder complications). Bennett was admitted to BC Children’s Hospital (BCCH) for safety, supported 24/7 by a trained behaviour/medical team.

August 2025

MCFD advised Bennett’s father that if he obtained a “Family Law Order,” he could take Bennett to the USA (where his father resides).

August 25, 2025

Darian formally declined the proposed resource (THE House) and the SNA, citing lack of medical oversight and risk to Bennett’s safety.

August 25 & 28, 2025

I was questioned twice by MCFD social workers in my hospital room. I was advised of two Section 13 concerns (abuse and neglect) and stated MCFD was taking full custody/guardianship until after the court hearing the following week.

August 27, 2025

With the help of legal counsel, I executed a Standby Guardianship naming Dylan (my brother, Bennett’s uncle) as guardian during my temporary incapacity. MCFD later dismissed this form as “invalid” with no explanation.

August 28–September 30, 2025: Apprehension, Safety Breaches, and Retaliation

August 28, 2025

MCFD apprehended Bennett from BCCH despite professional warnings (psychiatrist, pediatrician, BCBA, counsellor). The BI team and nursing staff were excluded from care and escorted out of BCCH.

August 28, 2025

MCFD advised Dylan they had guardianship but shared no information about Bennett’s care, and Dylan was not permitted visits. Bennett’s father, however, was granted 3 four hour visits per week.

Sept 2, 2025

Supreme Court granted Dylan interim guardianship (s.51 FLA – less disruptive alternative). MCFD continues to frame Darian’s hospitalization as neglect.

Sept 4–5, 2025

MCFD staff initially confirmed Bennett could have daily calls and visits once settled and could call me “whenever he wants,” a promise later contradicted by new restrictions.

Sept 4, 2025

MCFD disclosed Dylan’s personal address to Bennett’s father, disregarding domestic history and privacy.

Sept 9, 2025

Darian was informed that MCFD accessed her private medical records under s.96 CFCSA without consent.

Sept 10, 2025

MCFD and house staff impose strict restrictions on contact: I was barred from discussing medical needs, bringing food, or challenging staff decisions. I was given a script for communication.

Sept 11, 2025

First in-person visit at THE house. Later, Bennett expressed distress, saying, “It’s scary for me out there”. MCFD later disputed this despite recording.

Sept 13, 2025

Second in-person visit at THE house. I observed unexplained bruises on Bennett’s arms and legs.

Sept 15, 2025

Darian reported the bruises to the MCFD screening line and her advocates who flagged the concern with MCFD, and requested a medical evaluation. A Complaint specialist was assigned.

Sept 16, 2025

MCFD canceled Eastern House visits and moved to third-party supervised access. MCFD stated this was due to “concerns raised by your advocate” regarding the bruising report.

Sept 16, 2025

MCFD advised I was not permitted to participate in the HEAL clinic appointment for Bennett’s bruises.

Sept 17, 2025

MCFD attempted to transfer Bennett to public school. My brother, Dylan, had already signed the Special Education funding agreement for Fawkes Academy. Advocates called the move retaliatory.

Sept 17, 2025

MCFD emails strict ‘guidelines’ for visits (no medical, behavioural or hygienic discussion, no food, no gifts, must attend alone, no photos/screenshots). Advocates (Angela, Lori) described this as retaliation.

Sept 24, 2025

Bennett was registered/enrolled in public school.

Sept 24, 2025

Darian was advised by social workers that they were not aware of the bruising and heard about it only from me. Social workers also advised me that my mother, who has a documented history of psychiatric instability and false reports, was the one who reported me.

Sept 30, 2025

Darian formally requested supervision reports from visits; MCFD denied the request, stating the reports were “solely for MCFD use.”

Sept 30–Oct 1, 2025

Darian raised a new safety concern about exposed wires in Bennett’s play area at Eastern House. MCFD later covered it with tape as an inadequate remedy.

Ongoing Legal and Advocacy Efforts

Formal Complaints and Internal Warnings

This involved formally notifying MCFD’s internal oversight bodies and directors about the alleged misconduct and safety concerns.

Darian filed a formal complaint with an MCFD complaint specialist on September 18, 2025. She specifically noted that she had declined the Eastern House placement earlier due to a lack of medical oversight and training, but MCFD placed Bennett there anyway.

The Executive Director of FSI (Advocate) warned three MCFD Directors about “misinformation, punitive restrictions, and inconsistent decision-making” and urged a review for compliance with law and policy.

The Manager at the Representative for Children and Youth (RCY) was made aware of the situation and confirmed he would be watching it closely.

October 3, 2025 – MLA Meeting and Legislative Involvement

On October 3, 2025, I met via Zoom with MLA Amelia Boultbee, the Official Opposition Critic for Children and Family Development, alongside Executive Director (Family Support Institute), Executive Director (Inclusion BC), and Kinsight Representative.

During that meeting, I outlined how Bennett was apprehended from BC Children’s Hospital despite a family-led discharge plan and a valid stand-by guardianship naming my brother Dylan Stoppler. Amelia described the ministry’s conduct as a “breach of policy” and “very strange, totalitarian behaviour.”

We discussed the bruises that appeared on Bennett while in ministry care, the retaliatory restrictions that followed, and MCFD’s failure to investigate or document these injuries. Amelia emphasized the lack of transparency and asked for a detailed, evidence-linked timeline to present to Jodie Wickens, her successor in the critic role. She committed to supporting advocacy efforts and noted that the situation raised “serious questions of accountability.”

That meeting confirmed what I had felt all along: this is no longer just a personal tragedy—it’s a systemic failure that demands public oversight. The CFCSA promises family-centered practice. It’s time MCFD started living up to it.

Legal Counsel’s Formal Demands and Non-Response

This outlines the persistent, professional attempts by legal counsel to engage MCFD’s legal counsel and the resulting systemic silence.

My legal counsel wrote to the Director’s Council on October 3, 2025.

Four separate letters were sent from my lawyer to the Director’s Council between August 28, 2025, and October 2, 2025 (Aug 28, Sept 8, Sept 24, and Oct 2), and none were responded to.

As early as September 16, 2025, counsel discussed the possibility of involving the media if MCFD continued to stall.

Demanding and Responding to Court Documents

This covers the official legal filings necessary to contest MCFD’s initial grounds for apprehension and care.

A Response to MCFD’s “Report to Court” was filed on September 28, 2025, counteracting all of their claims with prior correspondence or meeting minutes.

Counsel letters were sent refuting MCFD’s claim of ‘no prior involvement’ with the father and cited the 2019 safety plans and the father’s admissions at discovery as evidence.

Seeking Disclosure and Child Representation

This addresses the fight for procedural fairness and access to information necessary to effectively participate in the case.

I formally requested supervision reports from visits on September 30, 2025.

MCFD denied the request, stating the reports were “solely for MCFD use,” despite verbally confirming that the visits had been going “really well”.

I requested a child representation lawyer for Bennett on September 12, 2025.

As of October 6, 2025, despite repeated requests, no family plan or case conference has been shared with me, even though it’s required under the CFCSA. Without a plan, I’m forced to piece together what’s really happening through scattered emails and formal letters.

This timeline isn’t just a list of dates — it’s a record of missed chances to follow the law, ignored warnings from professionals, and repeated breaches of trust. Each entry represents another moment when collaboration could have protected Bennett’s safety and preserved our family bond. Instead, the Ministry chose secrecy over transparency and bureaucracy over humanity.

The CFCSA promises family-centered practice and shared planning. Yet this record shows that, from 2019 through 2025, planning was either reactive, exclusionary, or non-existent — precisely what the Act was written to prevent.