VANCOUVER — The B.C. Teachers Federation is calling for the resignation of Stephanie Cadieux, minister of children and family development, after another young aboriginal person died months after her 19th birthday and the loss of government support.
Patricia Lee Evoy, also known as Indigo, died last week. She was not in foster care, but was on a youth agreement, which is a form of financial support for people under 19 whose families cannot care for them, said Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, B.C.’s representative for children and youth.
Evoy turned 19 in October and her youth agreement expired, Turpel-Lafond said.
“I’m still gathering information, but at this point what I can say is that after she turned 19, things pretty much fell apart,” Turpel-Lafond said. “I’m very sad about this death and deeply concerned.”
Cadieux said she did not have a response to the teachers’ call for her resignation.
“It’s individuals and they have a right to express whatever it is they feel the need to express, but as the minister of children and families I have a job to do, and that’s what I’m focused on,” Cadieux said Wednesday.
The emergency motion was passed by about 700 teachers at the BCTF’s annual general meeting “in response to the growing crisis facing vulnerable children and youth in care,” the federation said in a statement.
“Teachers across B.C. are heartbroken and fed up with the government’s lack of action and support for vulnerable and at-risk children, youth, and young adults,” BCTF president Jim Iker said.
“As teachers, we see the impact of this government’s damaging policies every single day in our classrooms. Too many children in this province are living in a state of crisis and the ministry, led by minister Cadieux, has failed to respond for too long.”
“B.C. teachers are demanding accountability for the government’s failure to protect the lives of so many children and youth. It’s time to invest significant new resources and funding to end the crisis facing children in care and the young adults who have, or are about to, age out of care.”
Evoy appears to have died from a drug overdose, Turpel-Lafond said.
A male and a female were found dead in an apartment in Burnaby on Willingdon Avenue on March 10 and the coroner is investigating, said coroner Barbara McLintock.
Turpel-Lafond said it’s possible that Evoy, like many young aboriginal women, was pressured to make money through dancing or working as an escort.
On social media, friends remembered Evoy as a sweet and beautiful girl who loved dancing.
“She lived up to her nickname. I just wish her spark had the chance to become the inferno she was meant to be,” Dan Reimer posted on Facebook. “She had the personality, heart, and fire to change the world.”
Turpel-Lafond said Evoy was receiving services from the Broadway Youth Resource Centre and had accessed a number of other youth resources. But she said those agencies and services are piecemeal and do not have the funding or staff to keep young people safe.
Cadieux said the government has increased supports for young people and that it is challenging to figure out how best to support youth transitioning to independence.
