Sometimes the law is not an ass.
Sometimes the justice system rises above the fiats and dictates of authority and utilizes common sense and even compassion to arrive at solutions that benefit both individuals and society as a whole.
Last week, B.C, Supreme Court Justice Carol Ross ruled that the B.C. government violated the constitutional rights of inmates when, in 2007, it closed a program at Alouette Correctional Centre for Women that allowed inmates to serve time with their babies.
"The decision to cancel the Mother Baby Program removed one important option, the one presumed at law to be favourable, from the process of determining the best interests of the child," said Justice Ross.
"As a result, infants have been and will be separated from their mothers during the critical formative period of their life, interfering with their attachment to their mother, and depriving them of the physical and psychological benefits of breastfeeding."
Separating a newborn from an inmate requires the state to sign off on alternate care. There are not always natural family options, so the state assumes other care costs. But depriving a child of natural love is a bigger cost that others will pay later.
Let's hope the B.C. government will buy into the financial argument for this type of program and not appeal the decision. We can only assume that Premier Christy Clark has not had time to get up to speed on this file. Otherwise, it's pretty hard to see why a mother baby program for inmates wouldn't be front and centre in her oft-touted "families first" agenda.
The court has given her six months to fix that.
