JEFFREY: ...in case she falls into a coma...

VandenElsen still not eating; living will puts Finck in charge
By Davene Jeffrey
The Halifax Herald Limited
Thursday, May 26, 2005

Carline VandenElsen, who's in Day 5 of a hunger strike, has prepared a living will in case she falls into a coma, supporters say.

Ms. VandenElsen, 42, and Larry Finck, 51, are in custody and will be sentenced next month on several convictions after holding police at bay for 67 hours during an armed standoff in Halifax just over a year ago.

The siege began after police went to the couple's home to enforce a child apprehension order.

Ms. VandenElsen has said she expects to die and has vowed not to eat until an inquiry is announced into her case.

In the meantime, she is drinking liquids and has prepared her will, says friend and supporter Marilyn Dey.

Ms. VandenElsen wants medical intervention used to keep her alive and has given her power of attorney to her husband, states an Internet site devoted to Ms. VandenElsen's hunger strike, which she calls Starving for the Children. Updates are posted at http://starvingforthechildren.blogspot.com.

Following jail policy, officials will not confirm whether Ms. VandenElsen is on a hunger strike. It is also policy to refuse media access to prisoners on hunger strikes, jail superintendent Sean Kelly has said.

Ms. VandenElsen's fast began Saturday, the anniversary of the day the standoff ended, the last day she saw her infant daughter and the day her mother-in-law, Mona Finck, died.

The family had barricaded themselves inside 6161 Shirley St. Mrs. Finck died of natural causes during the standoff.

Throughout the couple's many court hearings following the standoff, they had complained the system was out to get them.

In a letter written by Ms. VandenElsen from the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth, and released to this newspaper Wednesday, she continued to rail against authorities, including police, child-welfare officials and lawyers.

"It's the lawyers in the driver's seat, profiteering on the backs of babes in a multibillion-dollar family law system," Ms. VandenElsen wrote.

She and her husband have both referred to the child-welfare system as the buying and selling of babies.

"No one is minding the kiddy store," says the letter. "One-third of the population doesn't know what's going on, a third knows but can't do anything about it and the other third either knows but doesn't care or knows but isn't making (a stink) because they're too busy making (it) rich."

Ms. VandenElsen also recounts a tragic tale she claims was told to her by a fellow inmate who lost her baby to authorities.

"She'd been walking down the street, pregnant. The cops pick her up, tell her there's a warrant for her arrest, take her to the hospital, where she's induced and children's aid are there to take her newborn. Police release her and she never sees her baby again."

Her letter ends "My baby was stolen and I want her back" followed by her signature.

By DAVENE JEFFREY / Staff Reporter