PRINCIPLES AND VALUES OF THE REPRESENTATIVE OF CHILDREN & YOUTH

The Representative for Children and Youth express the principles that form the strategy for her office’s child-centred concentration. The Representative agrees with the mandate that Children and Youth have a right to be safe and protected because they are valued individuals deserving of respect.

Paul and Zabeth Bayne – Part 15 – The Bayne Campaign for Justice

How on earth has this gone so wrong?
Paul and Zabeth Bayne have been through so much.
I will recount a timeline list of the events that have ripped this family apart and rendered five people, two adults who are husband and wife and parents of three children, each of them bewildered, confused and so lonesome for the other members of the family. If it were not for their faith in God and the community of believers that is now national in scope who encourage them, they would be helpless and hopeless. The events and the times recounted briefly here, are provided by Paul and Zabeth Bayne’s extensive documentation, all of which is similarly contained in the files of the Ministry of Children and Family Development. While I have not cited them here, their files contain the names of all the medical professionals who gave some attention to their child.

* Sept 23 2007 Bethany was resting on a blanket on the Bayne living room floor. One of her brothers running around a corner, stumbled and fell on Bethany’s head.
* On Sept. 26, 2007, because Bethany Bayne had exhibited difficulty with breathing, was vomiting and unresponsive, her parents rushed her to emergency at Fraser Valley Hospital in Hope. En route to the hospital her parents administered CPR. At the hospital Bethany was placed on oxygen, was connected to monitors and she was examined by a doctor. The hospital was not equipped to receive infants and after the examination Bethany was sent home.
* That same day Sept 26, 2007 at 1:00 PM Bethany was returned to Fraser Valley Hospital by her parents because she was not feeding, was unable to move her limbs and was not crying. Bethany was transferred to the MSA Hospital in Abbotsford where the receiving physician examined her, admitted her for the night and sent her home the following morning still exhibiting some signs of distress.
* Four days later on Sept 30, 2007 Bethany was vomiting repeatedly and not crying so Paul and Zabeth took her again to Fraser Valley Hospital Emergency. She was diagnosed with constipation.
* Her condition was deeply worrisome to Paul and Zabeth so on Oct 6 - 9 2007 Bethany was taken and admitted to Chilliwack Hospital where the examining pediatrician had a bowel x-ray done which proved to be inconsequential. She was then transferred to MSA Hospital and this time the attendant physician noted her increasing head circumference and required a CT scan. The necessary technicians were themselves unwell and unable to do the scan. The physician intended to reschedule this CT scan at a later date but this was never arranged. However, during this 3-day stay in hospital when Zabeth noted that Bethany’s monitors indicated a flat line and she stopped breathing, Zabeth ran for medical help. Zabeth claims that there was a lack of medical professional response to this life threatening event. In due course she was sent home.
* On Oct 13, 2007 because a neighbour reported that the Bayne children appeared to be malnourished, the Baynes were required to take all three of their children to the Apple Clinic for examination. The Baynes’ own doctor deduced the neighbour's report was unfounded and an unnecessary gesture since the Bayne children were healthy. Their small frames are due to their premature births. Not satisfied, the Ministry requested an examination by another physician and this was arranged at Vancouver Children's Hospital in Dec. 2007. This doctor’s report stated that the boys were happy and healthy children with no previous or present signs of abuse or neglect. Some time elapsed before the Ministry disclosed this report.
* On Oct 16, 2007 Bethany was taken by Paul and Zabeth to the Hope Clinic where the receiving physician was concerned about the increasing circumference of Bethany’s head. The doctor ordered a CT scan.
* On Oct 18, 2007 Bethany was taken for this CT scan to the Chilliwack Hospital. The Doctor at the Hope Clinic reviewed the scan results and immediately dispatched Paul and Zabeth to Children's Hospital where they met two neurosurgeons who discussed with the Baynes the need for a shunt for Bethany. Another doctor, one who was called to the case as a child protection professional, upon reviewing the CT data made a shaken baby syndrome diagnosis. That decision led to the initial resting of the children from the Bayne couple.

Shaking an infant is an unquestionably dangerous and reprehensible action. All efforts to reduce the risks to children by caregivers who do not know how to understand the baby’s needs or cope with a baby’s cries and behaviour is to be commended and supported. The B.C Ministry of Children and Family Development has recently announced a new program with regard to this issue.

It must be underscored that the RCMP investigation did not result in charges against Paul and Zabeth but a clear dismissal of suspicion. Still the MCFD is handling the Bayne family as though the parents are high risk parents who might endanger their children. Yet for two years these parents have been faithfully showing up for all their visitations with their children, loving these children as much as they can in two hours, and are heartbroken with each goodbye.

Oh please government officers, exercise your influence to reunite this family.

Paul and Zabeth Bayne – Part 14 – The Bayne Campaign for Justice

Permit me to tell you more about the Ombudsman’s Office of BC.
The Ombudsman is British Columbia’s Independent Voice for Fairness. The Ombudsman is an independent Officer of the Legislature, appointed pursuant to the Ombudsman Act.

Who and what the Ombudsman can Investigate.
The Ombudsman has jurisdiction over a wide range of public agencies, including:
• provincial government ministries, including complaints regarding income assistance and the Family Maintenance Enforcement Program
• crown corporations such as ICBC and BC Hydro
• government boards such as WCB and the BC Human Rights Tribunal
• hospitals, regional and local health agencies, and health-related government agencies such as Medical Services Plan and Pharmacare
• schools and school districts
• universities and colleges
• municipal and regional governments
• self-regulating professions such as the Law Society, the College of Physicians and Surgeons, and the Registered Nurses Association of British Columbia

The Ombudsman’s Office exists to uphold the democratic principles of openness, transparency and accountability; to ensure that every person in British Columbia is treated fairly in the provision of public services; to promote and foster fairness in public administration.
The Ombudsman’s Office serves the principle of administrative fairness; the public; and the Legislature of British Columbia.

The Ombudsman’s Assignments are to generally oversee the administrative actions of government authorities; conduct thorough, impartial and independent investigations of complaints; consider possible resolutions of complaints; consult with, provide reasons, and make recommendations to authorities to improve administrative practices; provide reports to the Legislative Assembly and the people of British Columbia about administrative fairness issues and how they can be remedied; respond to inquiries from the public; provide information and advice about administrative fairness.

The Ombudsman’s Staff is committed to thorough and impartial investigations. To that end they identify issues of administrative unfairness; identify causes of recurring unfairness and advise on how it can be avoided in the future; attempt to resolve complaints through consultation when appropriate; employ an approach that identifies and addresses the underlying causes of complaints; make recommendations and issue reports that are based on sound analysis of the facts, are consistent with their statutory mandate and apply the principles of natural justice and administrative fairness;

As promising as yesterday’s post and this one sound about the possibility of a independent and objective review of the Bayne case by the office of the Ombudsman of BC, as hopeful as this advocate for fairness sounds, the Baynes may be required to go through the court process, and if that is true, then the Ombudsman is powerless because the Court prevails. The Ombudsman may not investigate complaints against court decisions. But an Ombudsman’s report that recommended to the court that the Bayne complaint was valid would bear weight in the court decision. In this there might seem be some hope. Disappointingly, nothing has resulted from Paul's and Zabeth's several filed complaints to the Ombudsman's Office.

Paul and Zabeth Bayne – Part 13 – The Bayne Campaign for Justice

Ombudsman / BC's Independent Voice for Fairness

Our Province has an Ombudsman. With respect the case of Zabeth and Paul Bayne and their three children now in foster care and in custody of the MCFD, I am back to this important matter of fairness. I called it justice in an earlier post. Fairness works for me to. In order to adjudicate fairness, our province wisely, has established a BC Ombudsman’s Office.
http://www.ombud.gov.bc.ca/

Here are the welcoming words on the welcome page of the website. “If you think a provincial government ministry or public agency has treated you unfairly, we may be able to help.
The Office of the Ombudsman receives enquiries and complaints about the practices and services of public agencies within its jurisdiction. Our role is to impartially investigate these complaints to determine whether public agencies have acted fairly and reasonably, and whether their actions and decisions were consistent with relevant legislation, policies and procedures. Our services are provided free of charge.

There are some key words in that paragraph for the Baynes, some being “impartially investigate” and “free of charge.” Baynes are in desperate need of objective eyes committed to reviewing every detail of their family life crisis. Lawyers’ fees to date have consumed their asset in their home and they have nothing left.
If there was ever a hopeful sound for the Baynes it is the following...

The website promises that the B.C. Ombudsman is an officer of the provincial legislature yet independent of government and political parties and is responsible for making sure that the administrative practices and services of public agencies are fair, reasonable, appropriate and equitable.

Kim Carter is Ombudsman for the Province of British Columbia.
Kim Carter is highly qualified for this appointment. I would enjoy meeting her. She sounds like a remarkable and interesting person. Kim Carter has a broad background in criminal, international and administrative law. She has appeared as counsel before the Federal Court of Canada, the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada and the Supreme Court of Canada. She has worked in Canada and overseas in many capacities including as leader of the Canadian War Crimes Investigation Team responsible for conducting on-site war crimes investigations in the Former Republics of Yugoslavia for the United Nations Commission of Experts in 1993. She was also a member of the Canadian Delegation during negotiating sessions for the International Criminal Court in New York. She attended Glendon College at York University for an undergraduate degree; received her law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1979 and completed her Master’s of Law at the University of Ottawa in 2005. Kim served as a member of the Canadian Forces Reserves from 1975 to 1981 as a logistics officer. After her call to the bar in Ontario she transferred to the regular force as a legal officer. In addition to providing legal advice on a wide range of administrative issues, she acted variously as defence counsel, prosecutor and appellate counsel. She was the Director of International Law for the Canadian Forces from 1991 to 1995 and acted as Senior Canadian Forces Counsel during the Somalia Commission of Inquiry. In 1999 then Colonel Carter was appointed the first independent Director of Military Prosecutions for the Canadian Forces. In 2001 she was appointed by Governor-in-Council as a military judge and in 2002 became Canada’s first female Chief Military Judge until her retirement from the Canadian Forces in 2006. She was appointed Ombudsman for the Province of British Columbia on May 15, 2006 for a six year term.