Dear Editor:
It is with extreme sadness and disbelief that we read in the December 12-13 Edmonton Journal that Manmeet Bhullar will not call an inquiry into the deaths of the many children placed in this province’s care.
Obviously we can add his name to the list of Tory officials — Redford, Hancock, Zwozkesky, and all those who came before — who must be held accountable for what has gone wrong.
What is behind this failure to inquire about the details of these children’s deaths?
How proudly Zwozdesky sat in the speaker’s chair and proclaimed that an inquiry is not needed, while Hancock laughed out loud when he heard Raj Sherman’s request for Federal help in dealing with the regrettable circumstances of the deaths and the fact that the details have not been disclosed.
In typical form, this government has sidelined the media, as well as the family and friends of these unfortunate children.
As the non-transparency continues, so do the tragedies.
Recent news is that seniors are now suffering and dying unnecessarily in government care in Alberta. Is that any way to treat the young and the old, who are often incapable of caring for themselves? Since my wife and I are seniors, it scares the hell out of us to realize we could one day be in long term or nursing care, and we have no idea what’s ahead of us.
In our household, we too are emotionally distraught over the ill treatment, suffering, and deaths of children, especially native children, under the care of Alberta Social Services. We believe we too have a right to speak up, even though it appears the Alberta Government wants little discussion about such matters.
In 1977, 1978, and 1979, we adopted three wonderful and beautiful babies from provincial care. These three children, now adults, were a huge part of our lives then and still remain so today. As a bonus, we now have six grandchildren and two sons-in-law as part of our family.
It grieves us to think what might have happened to our three children, and subsequently our grandchildren, if they had been left to the mercy of this cold-hearted government, which has been in power for over 40 years. Would this killing field have reached them? One of our three children is native and three out of six of our grandkids are of aboriginal blood. Fortunately, they are all loved and accepted by all family and friends and treated with the respect they deserve.
If there are any decent, honourable government members, we are begging you to put an end to this terrible, hurtful policy of secrecy.
An inquiry into what has gone wrong is long overdue and changes must be made to vastly improve the lives of children in government care.
Hank Espeseth
Barrhead
