The transcript for this witness testimony is currently in production by our volunteers. It will be available soon here on this page and as a downloadable PDF.

Summary

Tamara Main testifies about her daughter Neela’s mental health struggles that began after Neela’s father abandoned the family when Neela was 10 years old. She describes how Neela, previously a happy and high-achieving child, began exhibiting severe depression and suicidal ideation. Tamara details her repeated attempts to get psychiatric help for Neela, facing numerous roadblocks in the healthcare system.

She explains how Neela was eventually seen by psychiatrists who suggested borderline personality disorder and PTSD diagnoses. However, Tamara says a social worker from the Ministry of Child and Family Development began counseling Neela and pushed her towards gender transition and autism diagnosis, against Tamara’s wishes. The social worker encouraged 17-year-old Neela to move to Saskatchewan for university, despite her mental health issues.

Tamara describes losing contact with Neela after she moved away, only learning through third parties that Neela had a drug overdose and dropped out of university. She believes Neela is now living as a transgender man named Finch and taking testosterone. Tamara expresses deep anguish at being cut off from her daughter and frustration at the systems that she feels enabled this situation against Neela’s best interests.

Credentials

Tamara Main is a devoted mother of two children from British Columbia. Originally from England, she relocated back to Canada with her daughter Neela in 2015 when Neela was 9 years old. Tamara has shown incredible persistence in trying to get proper mental health care for her daughter in the face of numerous obstacles. Despite the heartbreaking loss of contact with Neela, Tamara continues to advocate for parental rights and appropriate treatment for youth struggling with mental health issues.