NO SANTA, NO FOSTER GIRLS: LAWSUIT

Family blames ‘no-lying policy’ for removals

HAMILTON, ONT. • A Christian couple says two foster children were removed from their home and their eligibility as foster parents cancelled by the Hamilton Children’s Aid Society because they refused to say the Easter Bunny was real.

Derek and Frances Baars, who lived in rural Hamilton at the time but have since moved to Calgary, filed a lawsuit against the CAS on Tuesday, alleging a child support worker insisted the couple proactively tell two girls in their care, aged three and four, the Easter Bunny was genuine, despite the couple’s belief that lying is wrong.

“We have a no-lying policy,” Derek Baars said in an interview.

“We explained to the agency that we are not prepared to tell the children a lie. If the children asked, we would not lie to them, but we wouldn’t bring it up ourselves.”

The Baars are members of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America.

The couple was content to hide chocolate eggs for the children to find on Easter, play games and buy them Easter dresses, but this did not satisfy the support worker, who insisted the Baars go out of their way to instil a belief in the special power of the Easter Bunny as an essential part of Canadian culture, the couple claims.

Derek recounted an awkward meeting with the worker, where she told the Baars they were “required” to “affirm the existence of E.B. and S.C.” — with the worker using initials for the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus as the children were present.

“We said that we would neither confirm nor deny the existence of these two mythical creatures but were not prepared to lie,” he said.

Soon after, the two girls in their care were removed.

The CAS has not yet had an opportunity to review the court documents.

“There are two sides to every story,” said Dominic Verticchio, executive director of the Hamilton CAS. He disputed any allegation the CAS was disrespectful of the Baars’ beliefs and said the CAS works to have the customary practices of children placed in care continued while in foster care.

Frances Baars, 31, and Derek Baars, 36, were married in 2010 and have been unable to conceive a child of their own. The couple applied to be foster parents in 2015. They completed a fiveday training program, during which they discussed their beliefs with the CAS, they claim.

The couple passed a home study after numerous interviews and home visits and were approved as foster parents. Their position on the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus and Halloween are noted in the CAS home study filed in court, as is the fact that Derek is blind.

The Baars entered into a formal foster parents agreement with the CAS on Dec. 17, 2015. The next day, two sisters were brought to their home.

When Christmas came, the couple gave them gifts and had a dinner with extended family members, Derek said.

After Christmas, the Baars were introduced to their new placement support worker. The worker asked about how they planned to celebrate Easter and said that belief in the Easter Bunny was an important part of Canadian culture. She was insistent about the bunny, the couple say.

“My husband and I were confused,” Frances said.

“I asked her if she actually believed in the Easter Bunny or realized it was fictitious. After evading this question initially, she finally admitted the Easter Bunny was not real, but she did not consider it lying to tell children it was real; she believed it to be an essential part of every Canadian child’s experience.”

In each conversation afterward she brought up the Easter Bunny, Frances said.

In late February 2015, as Easter approached, the worker told them the girls would be taken away from their home if they did not tell them the Easter Bunny was real, they claim. They say the worker then introduced a new complaint, that she was afraid that if a same-sex couple were potential adoptive parents, the Baars might not treat them well.

On March 3, 2016, the Baars were told their foster home was being shut down and the next morning the girls were removed.

They were told they were no longer deemed eligible as foster parents, they claim.

The couple’s lawsuit seeks declarations from the CAS that it discriminated against the Baars and acted unreasonably, violating their freedom of conscience, religion and expression.

Verticchio said the CAS tried to work things out with the Baars. “At the end of the day, we couldn’t reach an agreement,” he said.

Asked if the Easter Bunny was real, Verticchio said, “It depends who you ask.”