Four young children were found left alone in a vehicle in a downtown Vancouver parkade on Wednesday afternoon.
Global BC reporter Rumina Daya was in a parkade beneath the law courts when she heard the muffled sound of a baby crying.
Global BC reporter Rumina Daya was in a parkade beneath the law courts when she heard the muffled sound of a baby crying.
She followed the sound to an SUV and saw four young children — including a baby — inside the vehicle. All the kids appeared to be under the age of seven, Daya said.
There were no adults around and the door to the SUV was unlocked.
…
“There is no law that says how old a child has to be to be left alone,” Kyla Lee, a lawyer with Acumen Law Corporation, said.
“There is a guideline of 10 years old, but there’s no specific law so you can’t be charged with an offence for leaving your child alone because they’re six [years old] and not seven or eight and not nine. There’s no specific law.
“There is a provincial guideline in place that says you shouldn’t leave a child alone who is under the age of 10 years old and if the child is going to be looking after other children, like their siblings, they recommend 12 years old for that.”
“There is no law that says how old a child has to be to be left alone,” Kyla Lee, a lawyer with Acumen Law Corporation, said.
“There is a guideline of 10 years old, but there’s no specific law so you can’t be charged with an offence for leaving your child alone because they’re six [years old] and not seven or eight and not nine. There’s no specific law.
“There is a provincial guideline in place that says you shouldn’t leave a child alone who is under the age of 10 years old and if the child is going to be looking after other children, like their siblings, they recommend 12 years old for that.”
To read the full Global News Story, click here.
