Dear Honourable Minister Matthews

Congratulations on your new appointment on becoming the Minister of Child and Youth Services. I sincerely believe that you do truly care about children, and I am pleased that someone who actually does care about children has been appointed to this very important position.

I am writing to you about the recent arrest of Allen Lewis, 67 years of age who was a foster father with the Toronto Catholic Children's Aid Society for 25 years, as was reported in the article - ' Man, 67, faces sexual assault charges' by UNNATI GANDHI, November 3, 2007 - Globe and Mail Newspaper. Of course Deb, this is of no surprise to anyone who has been in the care of the CAS as it is a rampant, ongoing problem. It is long overdue that the real problem of sex abuse in foster care, and adoption as well was addressed.

Considering that the Toronto Catholic Children's Aid Society had the nerve and audacity to stall, and refuse to cooperate with Michael Davis the homicide detective in the Jeffrey Baldwin investigation, many are very concerned. This agency even had the audacity to play head games in court with Superior Court Judge David Watt, in pretending that files relating to the matter were lost?

What assurances will the public have that the Toronto Catholic Children's Aid Society will be fully cooperative in this investigation, fully compliant in this investigation and fully committed to assisting the police in this investigation, rather then their typical stance of covering their own asses as usual.

On average pedophiles can assault up to 100 children or more, within a lifetime, and some even more. Imagine the lives this vile man has destroyed over the course of 25 years.

I have talked with you about the Toronto Catholic Children's Aid Society before. I consider them to be a National disgrace for Jeffrey Baldwin alone, which does not even include the many other lives destroyed by this agency.

Please act as the Minister of Child and Youth Services, and offer your full attention and assistance to this matter immediately. What can you do as the Minister to assist the police with this investigation? Whatever it is please do it, and if the Toronto CCAS dares to not want to cooperate then please have the Attorney General exercise search warrants, and anything that can be done from a government stance about this. I entrust that your attention to this matter will not be that of the focus of protecting the CCAS, but rather with a precise focus on the children involved in this latest nightmare.

Finally and again thousands of people want the Ontario Ombudsman to have oversight of the 53 Children's Aid Societies of Ontario. Considering this latest investigation the sooner he can investigate them the better!

There should be no reason period to bar the Ombudsman from having oversight, as children deserve and should have every branch of protection to help them. As the Minister of Child and Youth Services I am kindly asking you to have the Ontario Ombudsman to have immediate investigative authority. Many who are concerned about the mess of the child welfare system, would be greatly assured that things will improve particularily with the Ombudsman being able to investigate them.

Please do the right thing with this matter Deb Matthews, in true good faith. How many more pedophiles are being paid as foster parents under the Toronto CCAS, and other agencies? Don't you think it is time that something was done about this? What is being done to educate people about this problem? What is being done to protect children from pedophile foster parents?

Sincerely,

Anne Patterson