When Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond was hired to be B.C.’s first-ever independent watchdog for children and youth, she was told she would probably review two cases annually. In the last year, she reviewed 32 deaths. Turpel-Lafond calls the discrepancy a “grotesque” underestimation.

“I think now we have a better baseline, but the baseline is disturbing and we need to work on it,” she told CTV News in an interview. Her second five-year term comes to an end in November, and under B.C. law can't be renewed for a third term.

Over the past decade, Turpel-Lafond delved into some of the province’s most horrific and violent cases. That includes how the system failed the three Schoenborn children who were killed by their father, a vicious domestic violence killing spree that left Christian Lee dead, and a review of other deaths and suicides of kids who can’t be named. Recently, her office tabled a landmark report into sexualized violence experienced by kids in care.

Asked how she pushes through what can be traumatic work, she responded: “I'm someone who really believes in being there for kids and talking to them and I’m not afraid of dealing with kids when things are going wrong. A lot of people, their instinct when a child is suffering or hurt, they can't handle it, they can’t read the newspaper story, they run the other way.”

She adds that adults need to take responsibility to make life better for vulnerable kids.

When it came to fighting for change, the Representative for Children and Youth rarely minced words. She issued many scathing reports about B.C.’s child protection system – and became one of the government’s most vocal critics. That led to what appeared to be strains with the province, but Turpel-Lafond insists she was an independent voice for change.

In her final report to the legislature, she wrote that Stephanie Cadieux, the Minister of Children and Family Development refused to meet with her – during the past 12 months. She wrote: “This government must work on its ability to own up to its shortcoming and to address them. B.C.’s children deserve that much.”

CTV News requested an interview with Cadieux, but were told she didn’t have time.

The representative's position was created after widespread uproar after the death of an 18 month old girl in 2002. Social workers placed Sherry Charlie into a home with a dangerous man. Subsequently there were widespread calls to overhaul B.C.’s child protection system and the independent watchdog position was created.

Change over the years

Turpel-Lafond says life is better now than it was ten years ago for youth in B.C., pointing to several successes: the number of kids in government care has dropped from 10,000 to 7,000, more children are being adopted, and -- at her request -- some post-secondary institutions are now waiving tuition for former foster kids. Her office’s mandate goes beyond child deaths and includes advocating for B.C.’s most vulnerable youth.

Although her term is officially up in November, Turpel-Lafond is taking vacation and her last day of work was Sunday.

She says it’s a bittersweet time because a committee of MLAs is still looking for her replacement. Staff at the office will continue their work, but reports can’t be tabled until a new or temporary replacement is found.

Voice for the powerless

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond once advocated for a family of three kids every day for more than two months. Over the past decade her office worked on 17,000 advocacy cases. In late October, she put forward a report about Nick – and documented how the system failed to help the drug addicted teen.

Linda Tenpas told CTV News the report gave her dead son, Nick Lang, a voice. “She told the story of our son, and that’s what we wanted all along.” Several other reports into Nick’s death did not tell the full story, she said. When Tenpas and her husband couldn’t find appropriate resources, they turned Nick over to the criminal justice system to get help.