Four years after her baby suffocated to death in a collapsed bassinet while in foster care, Toni Omeasoo is free to publicly speak her daughter’s name for the first time.
Alberta lifts publication ban on children with ties to ministry who have died; finally offering the opportunity to surviving family members a chance to publicly grieve a loved one. While a positive movement and certainly one of the highest ranking goals on my personal bucket list, I want to be clear: Abolishing publication ban should not be viewed as a favourable effort on part of the government. Let's get back to facts, the government is the one who imposed the sweeping ban. Grief-stricken families were bound by silence or face hefty penalty: $10K or 6 months imprisonment for publicly acknowledging their loved one. The Alberta government also proclaimed that 56 children had lost their lives, when in fact, the toll now is 744 fatalities. Were it not for the brave, concentrated efforts of research journalists Karen Kleiss and Darcy Henton, who revealed hundreds of children died, the public would still be oblivious to the truth. And, the publication ban would still be in effect. Sadly, I must welcome lifting of the ban with reservation because it is actually public outcry that initiated change, not a change of heart and conscience. - Velvet Martin
Alberta lifts publication ban on children with ties to ministry who have died; finally offering the opportunity to surviving family members a chance to publicly grieve a loved one. While a positive movement and certainly one of the highest ranking goals on my personal bucket list, I want to be clear: Abolishing publication ban should not be viewed as a favourable effort on part of the government. Let's get back to facts, the government is the one who imposed the sweeping ban. Grief-stricken families were bound by silence or face hefty penalty: $10K or 6 months imprisonment for publicly acknowledging their loved one. The Alberta government also proclaimed that 56 children had lost their lives, when in fact, the toll now is 744 fatalities. Were it not for the brave, concentrated efforts of research journalists Karen Kleiss and Darcy Henton, who revealed hundreds of children died, the public would still be oblivious to the truth. And, the publication ban would still be in effect. Sadly, I must welcome lifting of the ban with reservation because it is actually public outcry that initiated change, not a change of heart and conscience. - Velvet Martin
ReplyDelete