DRUG DEN RAID FIRES UP CHILD WELFARE CRITICS

Repeat Case Prompts Call For Probe

Critics are calling for a review of the province's child welfare
system that plucked three small children from a downtown drug lab for
a second time.

"We have this idea that your home is your castle, but when the castle
turns into a crime scene . . . other rights no longer apply," said
Weslyn Mather, the Liberal party's shadow minister for Children's Services.

"There has to be an investigation. It raises questions about this
government's ability to protect children."

On Tuesday, Calgary police raided a Chinatown apartment operating as a
drug lab, where children ages eight, 10 and 12 were living.

It's the second time in four years they have been taken away from
their parents by child welfare because of drug busts.

In 2002, the oldest boy was eight years old when he was caught working
as a drug mule for a man living with the family.

After welfare services told the family the children would be returned
after they severed ties with the boarder, the father told the Herald
he was in no rush to get the children back.

News that the children were put back into the same drug-addled
environment has critics wanting answers about a system that should be
protecting children.

"It's very serious and disturbing and it's our responsibility in the
government to determine if something went wrong," said Mather.

Minister of Alberta Children's Services Janis Tarchuk declined to
comment on the case, but praised the Drug Endangered Children's Act.

"That act is put in place to protect children who are at risk, in
homes with parents who are involved with drug activity," she said
while in Calgary helping announce a new government partnership for
First Nations child and family services in Alberta Friday.

"Albertans were very concerned over the last couple of years about
children who are exposed and at risk in homes where their parents are
involved in drug activity and that's exactly why we put the DECA
legislation in place."

The children's parents have been charged with drug possession and
cultivation after Tuesday's bust. They cannot be named, to protect the
identity of their children.

In 2002, police laid charges against Kieng Nhuan Tran for supplying
the eight-year-old child with drugs. The charges were later dropped.

On Tuesday, police searched the family's apartment and seized 52 grams
of powder methamphetamine, 19 grams of crack cocaine, 16 grams of
marijuana and an amount of money.

Equipment for manufacturing crack was also found, said Staff Sgt.
Monty Sparrow.

Alberta Children's Services says that if parents comply with
conditions and prove they can care for the children, the children are
returned.

Spokesman Blair Riddle explained that if the province has no legal
authority to check on the family unless they receive a call bringing
it to their attention.

A 50-year-old man and a 43-year-old woman are charged with possession
of cocaine, methamphetamine, proceeds of crime and marijuana
production.