VANCOUVER — The British Columbia government is appealing a scathing court decision that found social workers ignored a mother's warnings and enabled her estranged husband to sexually abuse their children in foster care.
The Children's Ministry says documents have been filed in order to seek clarity from the B.C. Court of Appeal on the important child protection issues raised by the ruling.
A B.C. Supreme Court judge ruled last month that social workers failed to investigate the kids' claims that their father had sexually abused them and knowingly violated a court order banning him from unsupervised visits.
Children's Minister Stephanie Cadieux says the appeal is not about the family involved, but about every family that the ministry may interact with in the future.
She says government lawyers have advised her there is reason to believe the trial judge erred in a number of areas, and an appeal is warranted.
Cadieux says the appeal will not impact a former senior civil servant's review of practice and policy in the ministry and that any staff concerns that arise will be examined by a separate human resources review.
