Social worker-turned-politician speaks out about Sherry Charlie case

A central figure in the fallout from the Sherry Charlie tragedy, the social worker who conducted the original investigation of the toddler's beating death in Port Alberni in 2002, says some of his recommendations that were buried by the provincial governmenthavebeen resurrected under a new name.

Nicholas Simons, now an NDP MLA, wrote the first report on the case in 2003 before leaving social work for party politics last year.

He said the provincial government is only now adopting some of the measures he recommended more than three years ago to improve the child protection system.

"All the reports have been done into this case, and I think it's appropriate for the public to know that certain findings were reported to the government in 2003. And now they're being seen as suddenly new recommendations."

Last year, Simons decided to enter politics,largely, he said, because of concerns about child protection.

It was only last year that a heavily edited version of his report was released.

Since then, he's watched from the NDP benches as the government commissioned its own series of reviews of the case he had already investigated.

Last month, B.C. Child and Youth Advocate Jane Morley called on theprovincial government to set up multi-agency teams to investigate suspicious deaths of children.

"It's about time that it became known to the public that this is a recommendation that is not new," said Simon.

"The fact of the matter is that at least one recommendation was made in 2003 that could have an impact on the well-being of children. It was removed and subsequently reappeared in Morley's most recent report."

Nineteen-month-old Sherry Charlie was beaten to death by her uncle after being placed in his home in Port Alberni in 2002by a First Nations social agency. The uncle, who had a history of violence, was sentenced to 10 years in jail.