DRUGS PUT BABIES AT RISK

Councillor Calls For Better Protection Of Drug-Endangered Children

The newspaper photo showed three brothers at bath time. The toddlers
were Jackson, two, and Deon, aged three. Older brother, seven-year-old
Jimmy, sat with them.

Not in the bath at the time was their baby sister, Megan, only one
year old.

There was nothing out of the ordinary about three siblings enjoying
playtime in the bath together, and nothing in the photo betrayed the
danger to which these children were exposed in their own home.

The photo above it, however, showed how the lives ended, horrifically
and cruelly, for Megan, Deon and Jackson.

All three died when a meth lab exploded, levelling their house, which
had been situated in a California town.

When he saw press clippings of the tragedy, and realized that Megan
was about the age of his daughter Danica, now 16 months, Jordan
Bateman was spurred to act.

As a Langley Township councillor, Bateman receives regular updates on
municipal affairs and he found a report from the Public Safety
Inspection Team was troubling and mind-boggling.

The PSIT, comprised of bylaw enforcement and police officers and fire
fighters, was formed to investigate properties shown to use a
suspiciously high amount of electricity, an indicator of an illegal
marijuana grow-op.

These properties present a heightened risk of fire and, in the case of
meth labs, explosions which could impact other properties.

The report noted that in six months, PSIT investigated 158 grow-ops
and found evidence that children lived in 36 of these properties.

The startling statistic was enough for Bateman.

"That night, I started reading, researching and asking questions," he
said.

That led to the story of Deon, Jackson and Megan, and more
heart-wrenching images. One was of a nearly-naked, terror-stricken
baby being rescued by police officers wearing breathing masks.

Another was of a toddler (shown above) who had suffered severe burns
to the cheeks, chin and lips. Other images showed drugs and
drug-making paraphernalia under a baby's crib and on a stove top.

He saw pictures of meth ingredients contaminating the same kitchens
that children eat in, and he read about power cables running under
cradles to grow-ops, and of needles and drugs being found next to
sleeping infants.

Stunned by the images and reports, Bateman was determined to
act.

"I can't turn a blind eye," he said.

"These kids, growing up in homes with grow-ops and meth labs, are
called Drug-Endangered Children (and) they are being abused by the
carelessness and high-risk lifestyles of their parents and guardians,"
Bateman said.

"They deserve better protection than we are giving them in British
Columbia."

Noting the growing interest in establishing a law which protects these
children, Bateman said that Canada needs tougher laws and strengthened
protocols for the police officers and social workers dealing with
these situations.

Bateman supports a national Drug-Endangered Children Act, a provincial
statute that would follow the same principles of a federal act, and he
also sees a role for municipalities.

He said local authorities must ensure that clear procedures for police
and public safety teams are laid out. This would require the B.C.
Ministry of Children and Families to become involved whenever children
are found on premises housing illicit drug operations.

Bateman would also like to see police officers and social workers
trained especially to deal with child abuse issues.

The Township and Langley City have bylaws that govern the re-occupancy
of a dwelling in which there is evidence of a grow-op or meth lab.

Bateman said that legislation must go further to protect children who
live in these circumstances.

Bateman will raise the issue with council this month.