Planned move of B.C. Métis toddler to Ontario delayed

CBC News has learned the planned move of a Métis toddler from B.C. to Ontario has been delayed — but has not been cancelled.

The Ministry of Children and Family Services removed the three-year-old from her Métis foster parents — the only parents she's known since birth — on Sunday.

The original plan had been to fly the child to her new adoptive parents on Sept. 23. That family, which is not Métis, had previously adopted the toddler's siblings.

• B.C.'s child advocate calls on attorney general to intervene in Métis toddler case
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A ministry email obtained by the CBC states "The [Representative for Children and Youth] met with the [ministry] today, and reviewed our transition plan. Both have agreed to a longer...plan."

The email goes on to note this will allow the foster parents — who have been fighting the move in the courts for the past year — more time to meet with the adoptive parents, who have been flown to B.C. from Ontario.

Those meetings will be overseen by a psychologist who specializes in adoption issues.

The email does not say when the child will be flown to Ontario, and all parties involved can't be identified under a court-ordered publication ban.

Lengthy court battle

The case has generated controversy over what is best for a Métis child — to be raised by indigenous foster parents in B.C., or live with siblings adopted by a non-Indigenous family in another province.

The foster parents have launched numerous unsuccessful court challenges to try to keep the child, and on Sept. 22 the Ministry asked a B.C. Supreme Court judge to reject the couple's request for a further review of their decision, to which the judge reserved judgment.

Earlier in the day the representative for Children and Youth, Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, called on B.C.'s Attorney General to intervene and review the case, and to "show leadership on a matter that is crucial to Indigenous legal issues."

The ministry issued a statement in response, repeating its previous position that "When placement with non-Aboriginal caregivers is considered to be in a child's best interests, a social worker must seek approval from a ministry exceptions committee comprised of First Nations, Métis, and child welfare representatives before placing an Aboriginal child in a non-Aboriginal home."

In an interview with CBC News Wednesday, the Métis foster mother of the toddler described the child's removal on Sunday as a "punch in the gut."