October 24, 2025

Every parent’s worst fear is watching their child suffer and being powerless to stop it.

For nearly two months, I’ve been fighting to get my six-year-old son Bennett home — a child who is medically complex, autistic, and deeply loved. A child who thrived under the care of his medical team, therapists, and family… until the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) decided to remove him without legal grounds.

Despite having no court order granting temporary custody, and despite overwhelming documentation from professionals supporting my parenting and Bennett’s care, MCFD continues to block access, ignore medical recommendations, and withhold disclosure explaining why they took him.

Each day that passes without correction adds to Bennett’s trauma. His G-tube is red and painful, his therapy sessions have been stopped, and his familiar routines — the ones that gave him safety — have been torn apart. I’ve seen bruises on his arms and legs that were never properly documented. And now, to make matters worse, his father — who has a documented history of abusive behaviour toward him — has been granted increased contact, breaking the lifelong pattern of biweekly supervised visits that had always protected Bennett.

It’s hard to describe what it feels like to know your child is in pain and to be told you don’t have the right to intervene — especially when the system claiming to “protect” him is the one inflicting the harm.

The Letter to MLA John Rustad

Today, I sent a formal letter to John Rustad, MLA, asking for his direct intervention and oversight. The letter outlines the breaches of law, policy, and professional ethics by MCFD — from the lack of disclosure to the use of unregistered, inexperienced workers making life-altering decisions about a medically complex child.

It’s not a letter I ever wanted to write. But when every internal channel fails, and when the people charged with safeguarding children act without transparency or accountability, public advocacy becomes not a choice — but a duty.

The letter requests urgent diplomatic action to:

• Review and overturn Bennett’s unlawful removal.
• Hold MCFD accountable for procedural and ethical breaches.
• Restore Bennett’s medical, educational, and therapeutic supports.
• Re-establish his care under his long-time pediatrician and professional team.

Bennett’s case is not isolated. Organizations like the Family Support Institute of BC and Inclusion BC have warned of a growing pattern of children being removed from medically complex homes under false “medical neglect” claims. Families across the province are being silenced, blamed, and torn apart — often because ministry staff lack the qualifications, training, and oversight required to manage cases like these safely.

Attached Below

This Isn’t Just About My Family

It’s about every parent who has been dismissed, every child who has been harmed in ministry care, and every professional whose expertise was ignored in favor of bureaucracy.

Bennett deserves to come home — and I will not stop until he does.

BringBennettHome #JusticeForBennett #BCMCFD #ChildWelfareReform #AutismAdvocacy #SpecialNeedsParenting #MedicalComplexChildren #DisabilityRights #TraumaInformedCare #SystemicReform #FamilyLawBC #AccountabilityNow #ProtectVulnerableChildren #MCFDTransparency #InclusionBC #FamilySupportInstitute #BCPolitics #JohnRustad #BCConservatives #HumanRightsCanada #UnSilencedBlog