Full Responsibility: My Confession

I have shared, very publicly, the legal aspects of purposely misconstrued findings, rulings, and breaches of legal precedence by lower courts in the actions around the apprehension of my children and the final decision by the Superior Court of Ontario that “time was up” for repatriation of my children.

I have been slammed by many, including my family, sister and mother, that I seek to blame everyone but myself for the entirety of what evolved and where, 11 years later, things currently stand; for more than a decade, they have disallowed Jania and I to have a father daughter relationship.

Leading up to Caleb, Jesse and Jania being apprehended I was mostly an absentee father, was heavily drinking and depended on their Mother to do most of the work. There was never abuse, fighting or violence in our home.

There are many complex dysfunctional dynamics involved in our family, my wife’s parents as well as my younger sister-in-laws. Details here are as critical and contributory to the overall outcome as any other.

Yet I want those who read this to know that I take full responsibility that the need to have my children in care at that time was necessary. Without reiterating previous material that I have already written extensively about my role leading up to them being in care was the major factor for that need.

I did reach out for help, I sought treatment, I attended a parenting group endorsed by the system, I had random urine tests, and even submitted to a molecular hair test that registered negative for drugs.

The Children’s Aid Society of Toronto remained adversarial in its course of action regarding their work with me on a plan of care within a First Nations Context. They resisted that from the very beginning and even solicited a worker on my Reserve to assist them to that end. Which she readily complied with in the form of a falsified written statement regarding the Status of the children and the right for a mandatory review within that Context!

Finally, and emphatically adamant on this next point, I admitted my full responsibility for the circumstances leading up to my children being in care from the very beginning, I sought to proffer no excuses such as past hardships and misfortunes; but I did seek to work with the agencies involved and the courts to keep my children in our community, together as siblings and connected with our very large and loving family. Of course that never happened.

Thomas Francois