About 50 people join Sarnia ‘Fight Ford Protest’

Heather Wright/The Independent

Being a child welfare worker has never been an easy job, but in Doug Ford’s Ontario, Mel Barnett says, it’s getting more difficult all the time.

Barnett is a member of OPSEU and works at the Sarnia-Lambton Children’s’ Aid Society. She stood in front of Sarnia-Lambton MPP Bob Bailey’s office Saturday with about 50 other people protesting everything from OSAP cuts to hallway healthcare to the crisis at Ontario colleges. Barnett wanted people to know about the crisis facing the child welfare system.

Barnett says there has been a steady decline in the funding provided to agencies that are the last line of defence for children and the families. In some regions, Children’s’ Aid Societies have laid off workers because there is not enough cash to make payroll.

In Sarnia-Lambton, Barnett says, her employer can’t afford to replace workers as they leave for the last two years and there have been a lot of people leaving. “I know we were up over 120 (employees) at one point were down to 89.”

That means the remaining workers take on more cases and can’t provide as many services for children.

“We have to continue to provide our service because if we don’t come to work, bad things happen to families and children. In child welfare, we have to continue to show up” Barnett said.

“When children come to us, we have no choice. We’re the last line of defence for these kids. We’re the last line of safety for these families.”

Child welfare workers are taking on more cases and, Barnett says, Children’s’ Aid has to reduce the services to help kids get through difficult times. “We’re having to cut off counselling for kids who are in foster care because we can’t afford to pay for it.”

Barnett says aside from taking on more children, the cases are more complex because other social services in Ontario, such as developmental services and autism care, are also being squeezed.

“We have kids and families that are five years waiting for autism funding – five years plus. And in the meantime, they’re not able to provide safety for their kids because they just don’t have the resources to do it. So they’re coming to us.”

Barnett says there also seeing medically complex cases because of the nursing shortages.

“We’re it…We don’t have a wait list. We don’t have the option of a wait list because are it for these families and children.”

As they deal with financial challenges at work, child welfare workers are also being squeezed financially at home. In 2019, the province capped wages for all public sector workers at one per cent. That was later ruled unconstitutional in a court challenge. Employees who work directly for the province have been reimbursed for the policy. Workers such as Barnett at third-party agencies relying on government funding, have not. The province has not increased funding to Children’s’ Aid Societies to cover the cost of the court-imposed wage increase. And that’s led to more people leaving.

“We can’t retain workers if they’re not receiving a livable wage,” she said. And the people who have stayed, are feeling the financial squeeze as inflation pushes the cost of everything up.

“We absolutely have support people in my agency – who are just as important as any other position – who are accessing the same food bank services that they’re taking clients to.”

The situation at agencies such as Children’s’ Aid Societies isn’t often in the public eye since the province provides funding for the services to the third party, passing off the issues to the agencies without providing more funding, Barnett says.

There are many issues that get a lot of public attention. Rachel Divine, the organizer of the Fight Ford Protest” said the state of the health care system is important to her.

“I don’t have a family doctor at the moment because I moved here,” she said as cars drove by honking their horns on Christina Street. “I know someone who has been waiting two years for cataract (surgery) and I waited two years for a specialist,” says Devine “and I’m not medically fragile; what if I was?”

Devine says the waits for medical services is creating a two-tiered society.

“The idea that if you can afford it, you have a better quality of like is not something that is the Canadian way; it’s not the Ontario way. And I would never want my neighbours to feel that way…It seems this is the least we can do to say we’re not okay with what’s happening.”

Devine says she has tried to approach the local MPP to talk about the concerns, but feels she’s received “zero per cent” representation. Devine says “unless you agree with them, there’s no information back to you. There’s no even humouring you; and you represent me.”

The Sarnia protest was one of 38 across the province. They were timed to coincide with the “No Kings” rallies against President Donald Trump in the US.