blakout.ca invites anyone who feels bullied and silenced by an authority figure to speak out by telling the story that has damaged their life.

USE YOUR VOICE

SPEAK OUT. IT'S YOUR DEMOCRATIC RIGHT.

BLAKOUT.CA INVESTIGATES HOW STORIES OF INJUSTICE CAN AFFECT A DEMOCRACY IF VOICES THAT WERE SILENCED ARE FACILITATED AND HEARD.

it assumes that canadians care.

[ add your voice ]

STORIES OF INJUSTICE

WHAT'S YOUR TRIGGER?

IN A DEMOCRACY, THE ELECTORATE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SOCIAL JUSTICE CRIMES THAT TRAUMATIZE THEIR SOCIETY. THE COST IS BROKEN LIVES AND TAX DOLLARS.

explore the voices of an oppressed public and discover a story that could be your own.

[ visit the voices archive ]

"People find it so hard to
believe that a children's
aid society could act
maliciously. It just goes
outside of what people
believe."

Ryerson University Research Ethics Board
facilitated ethics oversight for the documentary.
Powerful As God, won the MADA award
at Commffest Film Festival in 2012.

PUBLICITY & MEDIA

FEAR SILENCES

AND ANNULS THE WORKINGS OF A DEMOCRACY

PEOPLE WHO CANNOT AFFORD TO FIGHT FOR THEIR RIGHTS ARE DISCARDED TO THE FRINGES OF SOCIETY IN A WASH OF APATHY, HELPLESSNESS AND DISAPPOINTMENT.

Social justice crimes persist in a democracy because the victims are not heard and the ruling public is uninformed.

[ Read More ]

Esther Buckareff
[ director@blakout.ca ]
Toronto, Ontario
Canada

"If you remain silent, then you're giving the power to government not to do anything."

Rosario Marchese, MPP
Trinity Spadina, Toronto

[ VIDEO ] SPEAK OUT

RECENT STORIES [ VOICES ARCHIVE ]

I Needed Help - Raw story from a young single mom (Kingston CAS)
I Lost Seven Children To These Criminals - Mom loses 7 kids to (Kingston CAS)
Free Ride For Pedophiles - CAS pays for abusive man's ride (Kingston CAS)
Because I Am Black - Does racism impact CAS decisions? (Windsor CAS)
For Love or Money? - Adoptive parent of two siblings (Stormont/Dundas CAS)

Through user-contributed stories and traditional investigative filmmaking, this interactive documentary will be shaped by and for the public - to uncover vital social justice issues and give voice to those silenced by fear. Add your voice, read the stories, watch the film, and vote responsibly. Become part of social justice change.

Featured Topic: The Children's Aid Societies of Ontario: a documentary film, with ongoing stories contributed on this website by the public.

For parents with children under the age of 16, the Ontario Children's Aid Society (CAS) is the most powerful agency in Ontario. Its mandate is to protect the lives of abused children and orphans. The province's caring public has spared no measure to protect its children by empowering the agency with laws and money that enable it to execute the people's will and do its job effectively.

Through interviews with witnesses and seasoned experts, this documentary film explores the workings of the CAS. It asks questions fundamental to the blakout project. How are employees of a publicly funded agency using their power? How are children and parents affected by the process? Are there factors that could mitigate a noble and compassionate public initiative to reverse-course? Are your children's lives at stake? Who are the oppressed and what role does money play? Is this a widespread systemic issue? And if so, what is the cost and risk to society? Who is accountable? And finally, if the system is broken, how would you fix it without leaving the vulnerable exposed to harm?

This documentary examines if any child is at risk, regardless of family income, cultural background or parental investment. It seeks to empower the electorate to vote for politicians who will competently guard society's children. Research is conducted on-camera and a complex subject is examined through a broad cas_windsor spectrum of witness stories. Licensed professionals, with years of hands-on experience, inform, educate and offer critical observations and recommendations. Elected politicians are put to task in areas of competence and proposed solutions.

This film is a case study of a publicly funded agency that is not unlike most government agencies in the country. Financed by the public and wielding extraordinary power, employees of these organizations can affect lives in areas where the stakes are often the highest.

[ read more ]

FROM THE TRANSCRIPTS
[ ASK THE WITNESS ][ ASK THE EXPERT ]

One of the other points I'd like to make is implementing a standard of parenting. Often what happens, is the society wants to impose a standard of parenting that is inappropriate to many people. They're poor! They're marginalized. We can't impose that standard on them.

DOC NOTES

15 May

Letters from viewers and visitors

Letters from visitors to blakout.ca are published to this page. If you would like your comments to published to the website, please note your consent in your email or message. Click to read the most recent letters

24 Mar

Letter from former CAS Supervisor

re: CAS staff asked to keep cased open to retain funding Letter to the Editor, Toronto Star, March 16, 2013 Former Toronto area CAS Supervisor writes, “From now on it’s all about the numbers...” Read Article

22 Mar

Media & Publicity

Media & Pubicity added to site. See listings from National Post, Toronto Star, NewsTalk1010, Primetime on SunTV and others. Visit Media Section

15 Jan

Web documentary closed

The ethics certificate expired in January 2013 and the web documentary closed for public submissions. The website/film will remain online for public viewing. Read stories from the public