17°c Light rain showers
13°c Variable cloudiness
Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
CFS workers will be vilified if named at inquiry: union
Phoenix Sinclair (CNS)
SOCIAL workers who have their identities publicized during the inquiry into the death of Phoenix Sinclair could become the targets of venomous online commentary, a lawyer argued Wednesday.
Garth Smorang, who represents the Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union, said putting people's names and faces on the Internet would create global exposure and a permanent record.
The union represents social workers involved with Phoenix before the five-year-old was slain in 2005. Her mother, Samantha Kematch, and stepfather, Karl McKay, were convicted of first-degree murder in 2008.
The MGEU is pushing for a publication ban preventing the media from naming or taking pictures or video of any of the social workers who dealt with Phoenix.
"Gone are the days when you're only infamous until garbage day, because on garbage day, the papers get thrown out," Smorang told the inquiry, headed by retired judge Ted Hughes.
"Now, when you're infamous, you're infamous in perpetuity."
While still under the supervision of Child and Family Services, Phoenix was frequently confined, shot with a BB gun, forced to eat her own vomit, in addition to being neglected. She died after an assault in the basement of the family home on the Fisher River reserve.
A few months before her death, a social worker went to check on Sinclair and was told she was asleep. He saw a sibling playing outside who appeared healthy. He decided that was enough.
Sinclair's death went undetected for nine months and Kematch and McKay continued to claim benefits in her name. Eventually, a relative called police. The girl's body was found in a shallow grave.
Smorang said websites where anonymous commenters can post remarks can mean permanent damage for those involved.
Such identification means "those social workers will become game for the bloody-minded," he said, adding the media appear "to no longer be particularly interested in the accuracy or the truth or the facts."
"It is primarily interested, in my respectful submission, in the sensationalization of stories and the laying of blame," he said.
Regional child welfare authorities are also asking for the publication ban. Their lawyer, Kris Saxberg, pointed out media members are not allowed under provincial law to identify parties or witnesses in court cases involving child welfare. That includes parents, foster parents and others. He suggested the principle should be extended to the public inquiry.
But Hughes questioned the idea.
"Remember, this is a public hearing. Maybe you don't think it is," the commissioner said.
Hughes asked Smorang whether a publication ban is the only option.
"Are there not other measures their employer could take to reduce the risk to workers -- that is, remove them from the front line on a temporary basis or to provide counselling to them to cope with the stress and morale issues that arise?" Hughes asked.
The hearing into the publication ban continues today and lawyers representing Phoenix's foster mother, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and the media, including the Winnipeg Free Press, will argue against the publication ban request.
Hughes is scheduled to give his decision July 12.
The inquiry is slated to begin in September.
The union that represents social workers has fought to limit the inquiry. Earlier this year, it tried to have the death examined by a provincial court inquest, which is limited in scope and lacks the power to subpoena witnesses. The Manitoba Court of Appeal rejected that argument.
-- with files from The Canadian Press
gabrielle.giroday@freepress.mb.ca
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 5, 2012 A4
More Latest News
- Back to Top
- Return to Latest News
More Latest News
(1 of 34 articles for today)
Province announces service for Elijah Harper
4:56 PM 0View Related
Poll
Most Popular Latest News
- Charleswood deaths being investigated as domestic incident
- Man charged, victims identified in double homicide
- Two women face rare charges of harbouring alleged murderer
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- Horrific crash kills minivan driver near Brandon
- Crushing blow for amateur sport
- US woman credits 'mother's instincts' in chase of 4-year-old daughter's abductor
- Woman killed in head-on crash in southwestern Manitoba
- One dead in Highway 10 collision
- Calgary man charged with murder of woman and her five-year-old son
- Seattle man dribbling soccer ball to Brazil killed by car on Oregon Coast
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- News of city's $17-million winner leaks out on FB
- Woman killed in head-on crash in southwestern Manitoba
- Horrific crash kills minivan driver near Brandon
- Charleswood deaths being investigated as domestic incident
- Hundreds pitch in to dig out houses damaged, destroyed by Ochre Beach ice floe
- Crushing blow for amateur sport
- US woman credits 'mother's instincts' in chase of 4-year-old daughter's abductor
- Flood victim gets six years for shotgun threat, attack
- Seattle man dribbling soccer ball to Brazil killed by car on Oregon Coast
- Driver crashes into tree near golf course
- VIDEO: Left on the ice to rot
- Arrests made after raids on local head shops
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- News of city's $17-million winner leaks out on FB
- Passengers from diverted flight to leave Winnipeg Thursday night
- No threat from bag found at Winnipeg Square
- Susan Griffiths dies in Switzerland
- Woman killed in head-on crash in southwestern Manitoba
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- Marsh Madness: Photographers Fred Greenslade and Joe Bryksa capture spring migration's grandeur at Delta Marsh
- US zoo looking into conception mystery after birth of anteater; no male in pen
- Man charged, victims identified in double homicide
- Crushing blow for amateur sport
- Quake near Ottawa rattles residents across wide swath of Ontario, Quebec
- Li granted additional day passes
- Calgary man charged with murder of woman and her five-year-old son
- Manitoba's changing spiritual landscape
- Raleigh holds annual tour of backyard chicken coops, part of national spread of urban farming
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- An uncommon phenomenon
- Hundreds pitch in to dig out houses damaged, destroyed by Ochre Beach ice floe
- U.S. bill would give Canadian snowbirds more time to spend in the sun
- Guitar-playing astronaut bows out of space station with music video of Bowie's 'Space Oddity'
- Microsoft update to address Windows 8 complaints, confusion will be free; to be called 8.1
- Horrific crash kills minivan driver near Brandon
- Uganda: Blessed are the children
- Winning 6/49 ticket purchased in Winnipeg
- New website profiles neighbourhoods of Winnipeg
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- Dogs can experience separation anxiety and depression just like humans
- VIDEO: Left on the ice to rot
- Paul McCartney to play Winnipeg Aug. 12
- Ontario steps in to help save ELA
- Saskatchewan professor wants to test the health benefits of nose-picking
- 'Revenge of the redheads': Ginger-haired Montrealers gather in celebration
- An uncommon phenomenon
- RCMP charge man with double-homicide in Ethelbert
- Passengers from diverted flight to leave Winnipeg Thursday night
Ads by Google
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.
Have Your Say
New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.