‘It’s not right, it’s risky:’ Former Ontario child advocate worries for kids living in convoy trucks

More concerns are arising since Ottawa Police Services (OPS) revealed on Tuesday, February 8 that nearly 25 per cent of children were living in the convoy trucks involved in the demonstration.

As the protests head into its 12th day, Irwin Elman, a former Ontario child advocate and a candidate for Ontario NDP, is calling on the Children's Aid Society of Ottawa (CASO) to do more for the children living the convoy trucks. 

Now the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) have said they are working with CASO to ensure all kids are safe and their well-being is taken care of, and have encouraged people to reach out to report any incidents. But for Elman, his question is if there are concerns from Ottawa police or CASO, he wants to know what has already been done.

“If the police have had any concerns and if they've had (these) concerns, have they passed them on to the Children's Aid? And then I'd want to know what the Children's Aid has done,”  he explained to The Sam Laprade Show on Wednesday, February 9.

OPS, he said, also plays a role in ensuring that kids remains accounted for and that if they feel kids are in a vulnerable situation, they have a right to get in touch with CASO. 

Alongside with enforcement of police and CASO, Elman said parents also play a role in keeping their children safe, especially if they're exposed to harmful situations or their health and well-being is at risk. He explained that parents who are protesting, could affect their children and it could come at a cost. 

“It's a parent's duty to protect their child, if there's a situation where there's tension, it's the duty of the parents to remove their child from that situation,” he explained. “And sometimes a parent's freedom to protest peacefully or not peacefully, intersects with the child's freedom to be free from those [it] affects.”

And CASO, he explained can also collaborate with the parents to see if children are at risk for either their health or well-being or even safety. 

Elman also said there's something to keep in mind as the convoy continues occupying the nation's capital. 

“Despite what I might think of the convoy, I would say this: children are people and they're not people tomorrow, they're people today. We have to realize that.”

You can listen to Irwin Elman's full conversation below: