Easter Bunny to blame for being dropped as foster parents, couple claims

A couple is taking the Children’s Aid Society of Hamilton to court, arguing it violated their Charter rights by closing their foster home because they refused to say the Easter Bunny is real.

Frances and Derek Baars, who describe themselves as Christians with “a strong religious faith,” allege in documents filed with an Ontario court that the CAS violated their freedom of conscience and religion, freedom of expression and right to be free from discrimination.

They allege their foster home was closed because they were unwilling to tell two young girls in their care that the Easter Bunny is real.

And they also allege that the CAS created a false justification for the closure by saying the Baars would discriminate against a same-sex couple interested in adopting because of their faith. The Baars claims have not been tested in court.

The CAS says in a letter to the Baars that the goal was to return the girls to their biological family and that the Baars were “not in agreement with supporting the parent’s wishes for the children’s care.”

The letter also alleged that at the time the girls were moved from the Baars’ home the couple talked with the children in a “manner that was not age appropriate or sensitive to their needs.”