Kelowna protesters demand children back

There was a small but noisy and passionate rally Thursday afternoon outside a downtown Kelowna office building.

Chanting and pounding drums, about two dozen people gathered outside the offices of the Ministry of Children and Family Development.

Carrying signs such as “We are taking a stand for children”, the protesters say the ministry too often seizes indigenous children from their parents without adequate reason.

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And they say the process to have the children returned to their families is too demanding.

“My kids were apprehended nearly three years ago and I’ve been working tooth and nail with the ministry to jump through all their hoops,” said mother-of-five Candace Kuntz. “They required me to have more sobriety time and today I have over two years of sobriety and it’s still not good enough.”

The rally was called Bring our Children Home.  A similar event was also held Thursday in Vancouver.