B.C. gov’t shake up: Mitzi Dean removed as minister of child and family development
Posted January 15, 2024 11:57 am.
B.C. Premier David Eby is shaking up his cabinet, with its much-criticized Ministry of Children and Family Development receiving a new leader.
Mitzi Dean is being removed as minister, and will instead serve as the Minister of State for Child Care.
Meanwhile, Grace Lore will now move into the role of Minister of Children and Family Development.
Speaking at an unrelated news conference Monday, Eby assured that Dean’s demotion was not in response to calls for her resignation — most notably from the First Nations Leadership Council in June 2023 after the death of a child in foster care in 2021.
That call came after a Chilliwack provincial court sentenced a man and a woman to 10 years in prison after they pleaded guilty to the aggravated assault and manslaughter of a fostered First Nations boy, and the aggravated assault of his eight-year-old sister.
Court documents show the MCFD’s last visit to the Indigenous couple’s home took place seven months before the boy was beaten to death in 2021 by the woman, who is related to the children’s biological mother.
“My goal, every British Columbian’s goal, and Minister Dean’s goal, as well, [is] to ensure that the child welfare system makes sure that every single child is looked after when they come into care in British Columbia,” Eby said.
“Minister Dean has done exceptional work in the role. She has led the transition of responsibility over Indigenous children in the system to First Nations. She has overseen the reduction of the number of kids in care to the lowest level we’ve seen in this province.”
Eby shared that he and Dean “reluctantly” came to a shared decision in order to “keep moving forward to accelerate this work.”
“Obviously, MCFD is not an easy file. It is one of the most challenging, if not the most challenging, file … she’s up for it,” Eby said of Lore.
“We have made considerable progress on the very difficult files within the Ministry of Children and Family Development, and I know that Minister Lore’s experience and passion will benefit young people and families.”
