SOS Quebec, a children's gulag

Corruption, Child Abuse & the Business of Children in Quebec

From a provincial population of 7.5 million, up to 30,000 children were seized from families by youth authorities in 2006, processed in secret trials, and placed in group homes, institutions or forced adoption programs. The majority of warehoused children are cut off from parents and extended family, often physically, sexually and emotionally abused, and held until the age of 18 when they are dumped on city streets.

Years of secrecy and a total lack of accountability have created a culture of impunity and corruption among bureaucrats and the judiciary, and destroyed the lives of 100,000's of children and families. Shattered survivors, forbidden from revealing corruption and abuse under threat of contempt of court charges and jail, create succeeding generations of angry and broken families, guaranteeing repeat business for the state. The business of children in Quebec is now a growth industry, worth over one billion dollars (USD $1,000,0000,000) per year to bureaucrats, judges, lawyers, social workers, psychologists, pharmacists, institutions and contracted guardians.

No state in the western world removes, by force, as many children from parents as Quebec. Per capita, Quebec removes 2.5 times the number of children as Sweden, 6 times as many as Great Britain, and 17 times the number in Spain.

Uncontrolled state intervention has placed money and the interests of bureaucrats and the judiciary before the interests of children and families. The expansion of ministry and judiciary budgets, the creation of corrupt local power bases, and the advancement of lucrative careers have lead to systematic child abuse and some of the worst child abuse stories and scandals in the western world.

The suicide rate in Quebec is now among the highest in the western world, lead by victims of the children's aid service (Department de la Protection de la Jeunesse or "DPJ".) Other symptoms of failed state intervention policies include a declining population, falling birth rates among (non-immigrant) families, the buildup of a massive bureaucracy numbering over 500,000, the highest taxes and highest per capita debt levels in North America, rampant corruption in rural regions, an exodus of private capital and jobs, etc.

To silence complaints of corruption and abuse in the treatment of children, the Quebec government, with no public debate or inquiry, has increased the powers of the DPJ and accelerated the programs of permanent institutionalization and forced adoption of children.

The Informant Network - Feeding the Machine

A public network of informers reported over 70,000 children and their parents to children's authorities ("DPJ") in 2005. Tardiness, truancy, illness, cuts, scrapes, dirty dishes, unwashed laundry, politically incorrect books, magazines or pictures are considered valid indicators of child abuse. If a motive or incident is required the claim of possible future emotional or physical abuse is used by social workers to seize children. With no burden of proof required to seize and hold children, DPJ bureaucrats work closely with a corrupt justice system to attack and silence opponents, and to justify funding for expanding budgets.

Children seized are selected from parents considered vulnerable or naive - those least able to resist. Parents who have suffered accident, illness, separation, divorce, and those deemed marginal in lifestyle (home schoolers) are preferred targets. Well adjusted children are preferred candidates as they are easier to warehouse, and make better adoption candidates. In order to insure continued funding of DPJ and judicial budgets, the placement with extended family or relatives is blocked. (Marathon case details - french only.)
DPJ workers using a police escort arrive at homes or schools to seize children. Naive parents are told that the children will be taken temporarily for evaluation, never to be returned. Court warrants are rubber stamped by court clerks without any proof presented. In many cases children are seized without warrants, through the use of document and signature fraud.

Parents who resist the seizure of their children are charged with assault. This is then presented to the courts as proof of their unsuitability as parents. Parents who do not resist are presented to courts as detached, uncaring, unloving and emotionally unfit, grounds used to institutionalize or forcibly adopt children.

Once children are in state custody, often in isolation cells, the inquisition and character assassination of parents in secret trials begins. With no burden of proof and with total impunity, collusion, corruption, fraud and psychological torture are systematically used to break parent child bonds, and create the distress used to justify the continued detention of children. Most children taken are never again released to birth parents. Parents and others who resist, including those working in the system, who attempt appeals, reveal corruption, or file complaints are intimidated, silenced, and subject to judicial and bureaucratic harassment.

A Legacy of State Child Abuse

Beginning with the forced institutionalization of native children in the 1930's,40's and, 50's, followed by the systematic abuse and torture of 1000's of children known as the Duplesis Orphans, and then to the present day abuse, the cycle of destruction has been repeated with every generation of children in Quebec for the past 70 years. The attack on parents has created lucrative work for the army of government bureaucrats, lawyers, judges, psychologists and aid workers etc. For decades, all system participants are paid by the omnipresent state, effectively linking the financial and career interests of bureaucrats and the judicial system. The lack of judicial independence has lead to a culture of flagrant corruption and impunity maintained by a conspiracy of silence. The system is a direct contributor to Quebec's suicide rate, one of the highest in the western world at 30/1000 for men.

The systematic removal of children from parents and the breakup of families creates millions of victims amongst siblings, parents and extended family. Raised without the unconditional love of parents and the family ties critical to identity and culture, victims leave the system emotionally shattered, drug and alcohol dependent, and lacking the role models, education, and skills to function in modern society. Forced out of institutions and onto the streets at the age of 18, the majority become suicide statistics or non-contributing, dependent members of society.

Judicial Corruption

In the documentary "Childhood Thieves" the DPJ boasts of winning over 90% of their court cases. Years of secrecy and impunity have allowed the DPJ and judiciary to fashion a system of loopholes and illegal tricks to seize and hold children, and condemn parents without presenting any proof or without following due process.

Children are represented by appointed lawyers they have never met, and often blocked from appearing in court. Children's wishes and interests are then misrepresented by their counsel, who in fact work for the state.


Appointed children's counsel are vetted by the DPJ and collude openly with and advocate for, the DPJ. Children, often held in isolation, are coerced into testifying against themselves and/or their parents.

Attempts to provide children lawyers without DPJ ties from outside corrupt regions are blocked by lawyers collaborating with the DPJ.


Children requesting legal counsel are blocked by social workers, directly, or by moving seized children 3-5 hours distance from their home jurisdiction. Legal aid lawyers in neither area will then contact the child.


Appeals to higher courts, costing $5000-$10000 dollars to prepare, are refused by legal aid lawyers, denying poor parents or children the opportunity to challenge verbal accusations and allegations against them.


The normal burden of proof is reversed; Victims are forced to prove their innocence against verbal accusations and claims made with no corroboration or proof submitted. With no proof required for convictions, and with the collusion of the justice system, perjury and fraud by DPJ bureaucrats is commonplace.


Access to court transcripts is often refused, denying parents and their lawyers the opportunity to prepare a defense or present appeals, and blocking civil suits and administrative action against the DPJ, judges and lawyers.


Court transcripts, if released, are edited or erased to shield corrupt processes.


Parents, whose attempted legal actions are deemed troublesome, are simply banned from access to the legal system by lower and upper courts.


Using the threat of contempt of court charges punishable with imprisonment, parents and children are forbidden, for eternity, from revealing secret court proceedings (huit clos) . Ostensibly to protect the identities of children, the secret trial system serves to hide corruption and abuse by the DPJ, children's lawyers (vetted by the DPJ) and judges.


In flagrant violation of the fundamental principals of justice, judges are in direct contact with DPJ directors outside of the courtroom. Judges who refuse to take orders from the DPJ bureaucracy are subject to harassment, pressure and complaints. (See the sacking of Judge Andrée Ruffo.)


Accusations and charges against parents are presented on the morning of court appearances or during court sessions, intentionally denying parents the possibility of preparing a defense, challenging accusations or summoning witnesses.


Documents obtained through signature and document fraud are presented in court as evidence of parents' agreement and acceptance of decisions made unilaterally by the DPJ. (See "Tools of Corruption".)


When children leave the system, DPJ files and notes are destroyed to impede investigations and block civil suits. For child witnesses to corruption and abuse every effort is made to keep them in the system until the age of 18 to prevent their testimony.


DPJ psychologists use childrens' names to profile and condemn parents in the courts. (Coming 2008"Tools of Corruption")

Secret Trials and Inquisitions

Once children are in DPJ custody the judicial and financial resources of the state are unleashed with the intent of breaking family bonds, removing parental authority, and attacking the emotional and financial defenses of parents and children. The system and tactics are deliberately designed to provoke emotional and physical reactions in both children and parents, which are then used to justify DPJ intervention.

Financial subsidies and income support, upon which the majority of Quebec families depend, are immediately cut off, forcing parents to move to smaller or cheaper lodging. Parents are then portrayed as unstable or unable to provide adequate lodging for children.

Once in custody over 30 days (waiting for court etc.) or the school has begun, the DPJ will argue that the child is now stabilized and should not be returned to parents.

As no evidence is required or presented for seizure of the children, the DPJ begins a well-rehearsed process of character assassination, a systemic violation of the Quebec and Canadian Charter of Rights and the U.N. Convention of the Rights of the Child.


Crimes against Nature, Psychological Torture, Intimidation and Provocation

Physical intimidation is used to provoke parents and children. In court sessions, after months of no contact with children, DPJ workers will place themselves between parents and their young, denying any intimacy or opportunity to talk. Emotional reactions to provocation is presented as evidence of the unsuitability of parents and continued reclusion of children. Parents who obey the rules, remain unemotional and refuse their children's calls are portrayed as distant, uncaring and unworthy of caring for their children. If children behave while in custody, the DPJ will argue that they should not be disturbed and kept in custody. If children begin acting out because of emotional stress, deliberately provoked, they will then be held for further "treatment". The forced administration of potent drugs to correct the emotional states of children is standard practice.

A frequent tactic is to deny parents all contact with children for months or years at a time, directly or through family and friends. Any contact with distraught children is presented in the courts as evidence of disobedience and defiance of the court and/or the DPJ, grounds for further punishment and separation of children from parents.

The Business of Children - A Billion $ Growth Industry

Over 12000 DPJ social workers are used to process 70,000 child evaluations each year. The average DPJ worker is female, single and childless. The majority have no relevant formal qualifications in social work or child care. The completion of secondary school is the only firm requisite. New hires receive six days of training, and then given the powers and mandate to seize children. Computer software is provided to prepare court reports with the technical jargon of the trade.

With jobs and pensions for life, 37.5 hour work weeks, paid vacations, etc. conditions unmatched in the private sector, recruits are easy to find. Monday to Friday work weeks, from 9am to 5pm, insure that children held in custody receive no attention, services or parental visits for weeks, particularly during holidays or weekends during which children are held incommunicado. DPJ workers receive promotions based on their record of seizing children.

The DPJ operates with a budget approaching USD $650,000,000, increasing annually by 8- 10%. The judicial system operates with a USD budget of USD $520,000,000, with at least 50% allocated to children and family cases.(With the exception of large corporations and families, the justice system has been abandoned by the public, due to cost, complexity and an open bias in favor of bureaucrats. If awarded, damages rarely cover legal costs, even for the destruction of lives.) Parents seeking release of children pay millions in legal fees. Parents from whom children have been seized are forced to pay for the incarceration of children, while at the same time being denied contact. Judges in Quebec, numbering around 300, receive annual salaries over USD $200,000, and enjoy effective immunity from prosecution. In total, over USD $1,000,000,000 of public money is spent annually to institutionalize and forcibly adopt children in Quebec.

The Complaints Maize; Retaliation and Impunity - Violations of UN Statutes and Charter Rights

DPJ bureaucrats operate without any oversight and, in open collusion with the judiciary, with effective immunity from criminal and civil charges. DPJ Regional Complaint Commissioners, to whom complaints must be directed, report directly to regional DPJ directors who prepare actions to silence and intimidate parents. Oversight committees such as the Rights Commission (Commission des Droits de la Personne et des Droits de la Jeunesse) are staffed by political appointees with direct links to the local judiciary and the DPJ, blocking complaints at the lower levels. Complaint actions can not be pursued concurrently as no office will rule while another office or court is deliberating. This insures that bureaucrats can stall investigations for years. Complaints reaching higher levels are acted upon only if there is sufficient media pressure.

Parents who register complaints are labeled uncooperative and subject to direct and immediate retaliation, in systematic contravention to natural law, the Quebec and Canadian Charter of Rights, the United Nation Convention of the Rights of the Child.

Children are placed, deliberately and repeatedly, in the custody of guardians with known drug and alcohol problems. Children who develop drug dependencies, often as young as 10 years old, are then moved to locked detention centers.


Up to 12 children are kept in private homes, often in basements. Children are supervised by one or more single adults, often unmarried and the majority without any training or preparation. Drugs are easily accessible. Income earned from holding children provides a lucrative income.


Children with (DPJ created) drug dependencies are refused detoxification services.


The status and condition of children is deliberately hidden from parents, and falsely presented to (and accepted by) the courts.


Court judgments are ignored or interpreted at will by the DPJ.


The Charter rights and UN statutes regarding children's and parent's rights are systematically ignored.


All contact with children, direct or indirect through family or friends by any means, is denied for months or longer.


Parents are threatened by judges should they have contact with their children.


Parents from whom children are seized are threatened with court action and forced to pay the state for children held in custody. (In the kafkaesque style of totalitarian governments, the seizure, institutionalization and abuse of children and parents is presented as a public service.)
Tools of Corruption

Document and signature fraud is used to expedite the seizure of thousands of children each year in Quebec. The simplest method is to call a meeting of parents, school teachers and the DPJ to evaluate a child's progress. A blank paper is presented to parents who are requested to sign as confirmation of attendance. Without parents' knowledge or consent, the signature page is then affixed to a DPJ document or report announcing decisions reached by the DPJ with parental "approval".

Variations of the fraud include using the back page of a folding document for signatures while hiding or misrepresenting the contents of the inner pages. Finally, having spent a meeting reviewing a report, parents are asked to sign their names to the document. Unknown to the parent, the document has been switched for another to which they have then provided "signed" parental consent.