Re: “Paige’s story highlights government inaction,” May 20.
One of the results of the residential schools is said to be a loss of parenting skills in the aboriginal population. It may go a long way toward explaining the disproportion of aboriginal children in care.
There are many problems with this as documented by Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, but the answer is not only to improve the government service but to prevent children being taken into care in the first place.
A great deal of money is spent to support the aboriginal community, but it is not improving things. Much of the money goes to the people who are themselves suffering and unable to cope. A program to attack the fundamental problem is needed.
Research has shown the importance of early childhood development in raising people who are able to cope, and this is an area that should be addressed. Support for families on parenting, and to keep children safe and healthy in their own homes, would go a long way to overcoming the dire effects of the residential school system. Done properly, it could create a new beginning.
Marguerite Ford, Vancouver
