Pubdate: Thu, 27 Jul 2006
Source: Aldergrove Star (CN BC)
Copyright: 2006 Central Fraser Valley Star Publishing Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.aldergrovestar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/989
Author: G. Illsey
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

FAMILIES ILL-SERVED

Editor, The Star:

The Family Relations Act states that all parents have an obligation 
to support a child by providing the necessities of life; food, 
shelter, clothing and medical service. It states that both parents 
are equally responsible to make these provisions for each child.

The main B.C. law protecting children under 19-years-old is the 
Child, Family and Community Service Act (CFCSA). This law says that 
parents or anyone responsible for taking care of a child must make 
sure that the child is safe, has enough food to eat each day, has 
clothing shelter, and health care; is not abandoned or neglected; is 
protected from physical abuse and emotional harm; and is not sexually 
abused or exploited.

The Federal Privacy Act ensures that parents cannot obtain any legal 
or medical information about their own child, without their child's 
consent. Therefore, if your child is hiding his or her drug 
use/abuse, and you need information in order to intervene to possibly 
save your child's life, you cannot legally obtain any information 
about your own children without their consent, as early as 
12-years-old, and possibly before that. There is no age limit on the 
Federal Privacy Act, and it is in effect for every citizen.

The age of consent is 14 years. This means that a 14-year-old child, 
while the parents remain responsible for him/her until the age of 19, 
is legally entitled to make their own decisions even if that decision 
is to become addicted to illegal substances and eventually criminal 
activity to support their habit, serious illness, even death. Parents 
are told by drug and alcohol counsellors that it is none of their 
business if their child is attending meetings or not. School 
counsellors will not disclose drug use or abuse to a student's parent 
without the student's consent.

If you are tuned in and fortunate enough to actually know that your 
child is addicted, and decide to help them, you as their parent have 
no legal say in any interventions, rehabilitation, or medical 
attention. If you wait (as you must under B.C. law), until your child 
becomes entrenched in the legal system, the court can order 
rehabilitation, but by that time, your child is more addicted to more 
drugs, and still possibly an unwilling participant. There are laws 
protecting our children from kidnapping and unlawful confinement, and 
these laws apply to parents as well.

If you have experienced the laws limiting your ability to be a 
responsible parent and ensure the necessary care is provided to your 
child, whether it be in the educational system, the legal system, or 
the medical system, please tell me about your personal struggles for 
presentation to our local, provincial and federal government 
officials. Send your concerns to:  They 
will be presented, or held in confidence, whichever you note in your email.

Together, we can solve this problem for families across the country. 
The more voices we hear, the louder our message will be. I will be 
meeting with our government leaders soon.

G. Illsey

Fort Langley
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman