Ontario’s most vulnerable children cannot wait any longer for answers

QUEEN’S PARK -- Ontario NDP Shadow Minister for Children, Community and Social Services, Lisa Gretzky; and Shadow Minister for Women’s Social and Economic Opportunity and Shadow Minister for Citizenship and Multiculturalism, Alexa Gilmour, are calling out the Ford government for once again delaying the release of audits into Ontario’s child welfare agencies, saying families deserve answers and children deserve so much better.

“These reviews were launched after devastating failures in the child welfare system, and now families are still being told to wait nearly two years later," said Gretzky. "These are children’s lives we’re talking about.”

“Front-line workers are doing everything they can to protect vulnerable kids, but they’ve been left without the staffing, resources, and support they need after years of neglect from this government,” continued Gilmour. “Families deserve answers, transparency, and action.”

“The major question here is what on earth is taking so long?” said Gretzky. “Children in care are among the most vulnerable people in this province, and instead of transparency and accountability, this government keeps delaying, deflecting, and going quiet. Meanwhile, children and youth in care are being housed in offices, hotel rooms, and other unconventional spaces. And instead of fixing the crisis, this government has stopped tracking and reporting how many children die while in care under their watch.”

“Families deserve the truth,” concluded Gilmour. “Workers deserve honesty. And kids in care deserve a government that treats their safety like an urgent priority, not a political inconvenience.”