TORONTO - A murdered Brantford boy whose name was used in an Ontario law mandating a coroner's inquest whenever a child dies during a court-ordered parental visit doesn't qualify for an inquest into his own death, his mother complained Wednesday.
Julie Craven's eight-year-old son Jared was murdered by her ex-husband Andrew Osidacz during a court-ordered, unsupervised visit that she said should never have been allowed to happen because of the man's history of domestic violence.
Osidacz was shot dead by police as he held a knife to Craven's throat after he had fatally stabbed Jared.
Craven told a news conference at the Ontario legislature that the Liberal government's recent crackdown on animal abusers seems to give pets more protection under the law than children like Jared.
"If Andrew Osidacz had beaten the family cat instead of me, his wife, he would have served jail time and lost the right to access of the family pet and be deprived of ever owning an animal again,'' she said.
"Now, my cat's welfare is more important to the McGuinty government than our province's children.''
Kevin and Jared's law was passed shortly after Jared's death in 2006, but Craven said her son's story won't be told at his own inquest, which she believes could help prevent similar tragedies in the future.
"Only by holding Jared's coroner's inquest under the law that carries his name would changes be made in the future concerning child access and the danger of spousal violence being a main indicator of future spousal and child murders being committed,'' Craven said.
"Mr. McGuinty give Jared his voice so he can save other children in Ontario.''
But Premier Dalton McGuinty said Wednesday he would follow the coroner's advice and have Jared's murder examined during the inquest into his father's death, which was automatically called because he was killed by police.
"The law as it's been enacted applies on a go-forward basis,'' McGuinty said. "There is going to be an inquest now into the father's death. The coroner has assured us that she will take a look at the circumstances around Jared's death as well.''
The New Democrats said it was "reprehensible'' that the government refused to call a stand-alone inquest into Jared's killing, and that his mother would have to sit though the inquest into her ex-husband's death in order to hear details of her son's murder.
"It's an insult, it's an indignity to Jared's memory and it's inappropriate,'' said NDP critic Andrea Horwath.
"This case screams for an inquest. There are so many systems that failed this woman and that failed her now-dead child.
"To tack his inquest onto his murderer's inquest is absolutely the height of an insult. I'm floored by the premier's lack of heart in this case.''
The law is also named for Kevin Latimer, who was 18 months old while on unsupervised visit with his drunk father at a Hamilton apartment when he fell out a third-floor window and died a few days later.
Horwath said not one child's inquest has been called under Kevin and Jared's law since it was enacted nearly two years ago in a unanimous vote by all members of the legislature.
"We need to change that legislation and amend it so it does what every single member of this legislature unanimously wanted it to do, which is make sure this inquest not only took place, but that other inquests in similar circumstances take place as well.''
