CALGARY – One of the candidates in Alberta’s Tory leadership race has found himself in the middle of a controversy over comments he reportedly made at a weekend forum.
Doug Griffiths is said to have spoke about the tragic death of 14-month-old Elizabeth Velasquez at the Croatian Canadian Cultural Centre in Calgary.
Griffiths stated “if I was in the situation like that, my parents would have come in and kicked my door down before the government every showed up and fixed the situation.”
“The government bears some responsibility – but I think we need to remember exactly who bears the ultimate responsibility – that’s the parents and the family.”
The grandparents of the little girl are outraged by the remarks.
“That’s bad to hear that some politician is blaming us when we are going through a very painful grief for the loss of my baby,” says Francis Anderson, Elizabeth’s paternal grandmother.
“I know nothing will bring my baby back but I only want justice.”
Francis and her husband contacted social services several times in the weeks leading up to Elizabeth’s death. She was never taken from the home.
“This comment is very wrong. By law, we can’t go there and kick the door and kidnap the baby. We would be in trouble with the law,” says Francis.
Last week, a review of Elizabeth’s case concluded that there were many flaws in the way Children and Youth Services handled her situation.
Griffiths’ comments have stirred a great deal of media attention, prompting him to issue an apology on Monday.
“I am sorry about my comments and how emotional this would be,” he said.
“I know what I would want to do as a grandparent. That was taken out of context that they didn’t do enough because that’s not what I intended and I’m very sorry.”
Last week, two suspects were named in the murder case of Elizabeth Velasquez – her mother Sarvia and her boyfriend. Neither have been formally charged.
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