( Richard J. Brennan/Toronto Star )The woman alleges she was sexually abused as a child by her foster father while under the care of the agency’s predecessor organization. In responding to an affidavit from the woman’s lawyer, McCallum stated in his affidavit: “A fourteen or fifteen girl (sic) is a sexually mature young woman. “I instructed my deputy minister to communicate this to the Kenora (children’s aid society) two days ago to ensure our government’s values of respect for women and girls are upheld by Ontario’s child welfare system. “He’s speaking on behalf of a children’s aid society,” said lawyer Loretta Merritt, whose practice is almost exclusively focused on representing plaintiffs in civil cases involving sexual abuse. She added it is “deeply concerning” that a children’s aid society would ever take that view.

Source: thestar March 25, 2019 19:40 UTC