14°c A few clouds
28°c Isolated showers
Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Publication ban 'true danger' to Phoenix inquiry
Winnipeg Free Press archives Phoenix Sinclair died in 2005 in Fisher River. (CNS CNS)
Related Items
A publication ban on the identities of social workers involved in the care of Phoenix Sinclair will hinder accuracy and stop Manitobans from getting information they should know, a lawyer representing media outlets argued Thursday.
Jonathan Kroft, who represents a number of media outlets, including the Free Press, argued against a publication ban before inquiry commissioner Ted Hughes. The ban would make it illegal to publish or broadcast names and faces of social workers involved in the five-year-old's care who appear at the inquiry.
Kroft said a publication ban would create a "true danger" to Canadians, and "permit an unaccountable group of anonymous civil servants to make decisions" that violate charter rights.
"We're not talking about trivial rights, trivial matters," said Kroft. "We're talking about rights that go to the very heart of our democratic tradition, a tradition the children have a stake in."
The inquiry will delve into Phoenix's care before she was murdered in 2005 by her mother and stepfather. It is slated to begin in September.
On Wednesday, a lawyer representing the Manitoba Government and General Employees Union argued for the ban, telling Hughes the social workers would become "game for the bloody-minded."
But Kroft told Hughes a ban would be wrong.
"They're asking you to make it to illegal for the media to tell the citizens of this province who they are, to reveal who was providing you with the information that you are going to be relying on to make the recommendations (for) what everybody in this room agrees is a central government service," he said.
Phoenix was abused and killed in her home after child welfare workers took her out of foster care and returned her to her mother.
She went missing for more than nine months before her remains were discovered in a landfill in Fisher River First Nation in 2006.
Earlier Thursday, Hafeez Khan, who represents Intertribal CFS, said the agency's involvement with Sinclair was "negligible," but faulty perceptions persist. Intertribal CFS is among those who support the MGEU's publication ban application.
"Even when we set the record straight, in our respectful view, there is no way of completely eradicating that perception," said Khan.
The inquiry is to examine how the child welfare system failed to protect Phoenix. She had spent most of her life in foster care but was returned to her mother, Samantha Kematch, in 2004. The girl suffered repeated abuse by Kematch and her boyfriend, Karl McKay. Phoenix died after an assault in June 2005 at the family home on the Fisher River reserve. Child-welfare workers had earlier closed the girl's file and decided all was well. A few months before she died, a social worker went to check on her and was told she was asleep. He saw a sibling playing outside who appeared healthy and decided that was sufficient.
According to evidence in the first-degree murder trial that led to life sentences for Kematch and McKay, Phoenix was frequently confined, shot with a BB gun and forced to eat her own vomit.
The lawyer for Kim Edwards, the foster mother who cared for Phoenix for much of her short life, will also argue against the publication ban.
Hughes is to render his decision on the ban next Thursday.
-- with files from The Canadian Press
gabrielle.giroday@freepress.mb.ca
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 6, 2012 A5
More Latest News
- Back to Top
- Return to Latest News
More Latest News
(1 of 10 articles for today)
Another big protest as Brazilians lament high cost of living, lack of good public services
6:13 AM 0
Poll
Most Popular Latest News
- Young girl found dead on railway tracks
- Court told driver hysterical after vehicle fatally hit highway worker
- Child in critical condition after West End crash
- Winnipeg man given 2-year sentence for coma-inducing 'sucker punch'
- Man convicted of drunk driving in Henderson pile-up
- Teen on train tracks from York Landing
- HSC Home Lottery winners announced
- McMunn & Yates absorbs five McDiarmid locations
- California 'Night Stalker' serial killer Richard Ramirez dies at 53
- At 55, I'm wise to what's real in life
- Young girl found dead on railway tracks
- HSC Home Lottery winners announced
- Winnipeg man given 2-year sentence for coma-inducing 'sucker punch'
- Child in critical condition after West End crash
- Court told driver hysterical after vehicle fatally hit highway worker
- RCMP say woman deliberately murdered her sister with her car
- Toronto woman dead in rural Manitoba ATV wreck
- Manitoba restaurant stops selling giant hamburger "for obvious reasons"
- Bomber fans wowed by new stadium
- Portage Ave. stretch re-opens after Friday-night bomb scare
- Young girl found dead on railway tracks
- Man dies after being pulled from vehicle submerged in Winnipeg retention pond
- Hailstorm wreaks havoc on Winnipeg garden centre
- 87-year-old woman tells jurors, 'Somebody had to stand up to' Donald Trump
- Two people killed in crash north of Winnipeg
- Two Winnipeg teens identified as victims of crash
- HSC Home Lottery winners announced
- Father, daughter seriously injured in ATV crash
- Chiropractor guilty of sexually assaulting, beating ex-girlfriend
- Filipino singer Charice comes out as lesbian; Catholic official says she's in identity crisis
- At 55, I'm wise to what's real in life
- Basic arithmetic back in class
- Craig Ferguson adds second show
- McMunn & Yates absorbs five McDiarmid locations
- Teens can join Let It Out Summer Rock Camp
- Daycare-subsidy rules bad for business
- City-wide average mosquito count drops
- Scientists meet to discuss weird British weather, say soggy summers likely for a few years
- New Flyer awarded Atlanta bus contract
- Suspect arrested after North End sex assault
- App could give Winnipeggers chance to report bad parking, get paid
- At 55, I'm wise to what's real in life
- Sobeys gobbles up Safeway
- Priest kept silent about accusations against Storheim, court hears
- Manitoba restaurant stops selling giant hamburger "for obvious reasons"
- Basic arithmetic back in class
- Geothermal heat coming to some Manitoba First Nations
- Spiralling cost of land raises new home prices
- Rogers and MTS announce new network sharing agreement
- $110-K worth of nickel plates stolen from Thompson mine
- New owner for lumber stores
- Chiropractor guilty of sexually assaulting, beating ex-girlfriend
- Grocer Joe Cantor dies at 88
- Door openers being used to break into garages, police warn
- Province formally opens Mental Health Crisis Response Centre
- Hailstorm wreaks havoc on Winnipeg garden centre
- New rules let customers cancel phone contracts without penalty after two years
- App could give Winnipeggers chance to report bad parking, get paid
- At 55, I'm wise to what's real in life
- MTS to sell Allstream to Egyptian investment group, focus on Manitoba market
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 be a Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscriber to join the conversation and give your feedback.
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is be a Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscriber to join the conversation and give your feedback.
Have Your Say
New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
Have Your Say
Comments are open to Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscribers only. why?
Login SubscribeHave Your Say
Comments are open to Winnipeg Free Press Subscribers only. why?
SubscribeThe 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.