Province's watchdog for children says government 'retaliated' against her

Mary EllenTurpel-Lafondwill end her 10 year stint as the province's representative for children and youth today andsays the provincial governmentoften moved slowly and in some cases retaliated against her.

"At times I felt there was a spirit of retaliation towards me," she saidin an end-of-terminterview.

"At the same time I couldn't get distracted by the Victoria parlour games, I had to stay focused on kids which is what I have done.This is an essential position, the work has to be done in a non-political way.

"Even though at times they have treated me as amemberof the opposition and intentionally targeted me in that regard to destabilize my work."

Decreasing number of kids in care

One of theTurpel-Lafond'sproudest accomplishments has been lowering the number of children in care from 11,000, 10years ago to 7,000 now.

But the province's watchdog for childrenblames current Minister ofChildrenand Family DevelopmentStephanieCadieuxfor not increasing wage rates for care workers as the primary reason for why that number didn't go even lower.

"I would have liked her to have broughtmore spiritof change.I think she has been very slow on improvements," saidTurpel-Lafond.

"Iam confident I could have got [children in care]to 4,000if the government would have actually paid foster care rates to Aboriginal kinship placements.We could have gotten more Aboriginal children out of care."

Finding a replacement

MinisterCadieux'soffice turned down an interview request aboutTurpel-Lafond'stenure coming to an end.

A parliamentary committee was struck in the spring to find a replacement forTurpel-Lafondbut so far no one has been hired.

This has created concerns that the job will remain empty for months, with dust already accumulatingon the empty shelves and desk in the representative's office.

• Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond leaves complicated legacy

"It's hard not having the transition. It'sdisappointingdespite the committee being struck in April, we are here inOctober... and it doesn't appear I will be able to play any role in that transition," saidTurpel-Lafond.

"The hiatus causes a lot of stress and anxiety for a lot of people whose cases need urgent attention."

By the numbers

Since the Representative for Youth's office was createdin 2006, it has handled more than 17,000 cases, delivered 92 reportsand provided the government more than 200 recommendations.

When asked about one report that stood out,Turpel-Lafondmentioned the Paige report.

It uncovers the story ofanaboriginal teen on the Downtown Eastside who foryears sufferedabuse and neglect, persistent inaction from front-line professionals and an indifferent social care system.

Paige died of an overdose in 2013 when she was 19-years-old.

Turpel-Lafond will now take some time off tospend timewith her children, joking she is dropping from, "a daily caseload of about 200 a day to four kids of my own."