British Columbia’s representative for children and youth says some progress is being made to improve the child welfare system, but she’s concerned “fiscal limitations” will prevent timely help from getting to those most in need.
Jennifer Charlesworth’s statement Tuesday comes a year after her report on the myriad of failures that ended in the death of an 11-year-old Indigenous boy who was tortured by extended family members who had been approved to care for him by the government.
She credits the government with making progress on some of the recommended improvements that came out of the report, such as working toward a “child well-being strategy and action plan.”
She said more than 90 per cent of young people are now being seen within 90 days as per Ministry of Children and Family Development policy.
“While some important changes have been made and the commitment remains, we must all work harder to ensure that we do not turn away from children, youth and families especially at this challenging time in history,” Charlesworth said in the statement.
In 2021, the 11-year-old boy, who is identified in the report only as “Colby,” died after being placed with their mother’s cousin and her partner and suffering from abused described as “strikingly similar in nature to the horrors inflicted on many Indigenous children who attended residential schools.”
It said Colby and his sister were isolated and had little to no contact with anybody outside of the home during the final months of the boy’s life.
The man and woman were convicted of manslaughter for his death and of aggravated assault for the abuse of his sibling. They were sentenced to 10 years in prison.
At the time of her report’s release, Charlesworth said the boy’s death was not an outlier, but rather an example of ways the child welfare system has let down children and families in B.C. and across Canada, despite decades of reports making hundreds of recommendations for change.
In her statement to mark the one-year anniversary of the report, Charlesworth said more needs to be done to support families — including basic income and housing support — and there are still not enough child welfare staff to meet demand.
“I know government joins me in being deeply concerned about our young people and has good intentions, but I am very concerned that with fiscal limitations these good intentions will not translate into timely on-the-ground improvements for young people and their families,” she said.
A statement from the provincial government says multiple ministries are working on the action plan which will serve as the “cornerstone” of the province’s strategy to align services.
It says the government is working on a “framework” that will include measurable ways to track children’s well-being and that the Ministry of Children and Family Development is working on documentation guidelines for social workers.
The statement does not provide timelines for when the work will be complete.
“Every child in our province deserves safety, belonging and love, and we must do better,” Minister of Children and Family Development Jodie Wickens said in the statement.
“We are working with all our partners toward a renewed model of child well-being that focuses on prevention, care and supporting families before they find themselves in crisis.”
Charlesworth said she wants to be able to tell Colby’s grieving family that things have improved since his death “but I need to see more change on the ground before I am able to do that.”
“These are challenging times. Government has good intentions and is making progress, but we know from past experience that many reports end up sitting on the shelf,” she said.
“We owe it to Colby to not look away. All of us have a role to play to support young people. We must act for kids now if we want to see our province thrive in the future.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 15, 2025
