THE INTERSECTION OF HOPE AND CHANGE/ Part 158 / For Love and For Justice / Zabeth and Paul Bayne/

American missionary to India, E. Stanley Jones, wrote, “Don’t bear trouble, use it. Take whatever happens – justice and injustice, pleasure and pain, compliment and criticism – take it up into the purpose of your life and make something out of it. Turn it into testimony.”

It would be far better that the MCFD give the children back now. If the group think of Fraser Valley MCFD assumes that if the court case verdict goes against the Baynes, this couple will go away, they fail to understand love and justice to a greater degree than I have witnessed. While Paul and Zabeth have been vocal in their protests, by any reasonable measure of suffering of this kind, they have been humble in their hardships. Take their children away permanently and from what I sense about them, their life purpose will become the exposure of the pockets of liability operative within this much criticized Ministry.

Of course it is to be expected that when you mess with people’s families for any reason, the reactions will be passionate and the rhetoric vitriolic. Further, what you have read on this blog is mild in contrast to other online blogs and websites that chronicle the stories of government endorsed and funded child protection that loses its way, when challenged with larger tasks of healing families, building relationships with restricted parents, practicing objectivity, benevolence and sympathy. It is not exceptional yet it is still baffling that we suffer most from the hands of the people who should love and care for us the most. It is so unnecessary. Trained workers should be able to discern clearly when parents are broken and incapable of parenting but also recognize when parents are responsible and dependable and then work to help them. The two boys should most certainly be at home by now and the girl, well, when the entire MCFD file folder is jammed with a paper trail supportive of the starting premise of child abuse by infant shaking, then nothing but a judge’s verdict will settle it.

The offices of Mary Polak, Minister of Children and Family Development, of the MCFD Deputy Minister Lesley du Toit, of Ombudsperson Kim Carter, and of Premier Campbell, have paid casual attention to this story. The newly appointed Chief Judge, Thomas (Tom) James Crabtree, who is incidentally the presiding judge in this Bayne/MCFD case is ensconced in the details of this story. It will be interesting to see whether right minded people will want to bring further reform to a Ministry that espouses it is in Transformation mode already. Cynics, from whom I hear every day, will tell me, “Don’t hold your breath!”

That’s why protagonists like Paul and Zabeth and a host of others with similar stories, or those with influence and position will step up to compel changes to a maligned Ministry so it can do what it tells us it is designed to do. From its page ABOUT US, “The Ministry provides programs and services to ensure that healthy children and responsible families are living in safe, caring and inclusive communities.”

A PLEA FOR JUSTICE