Appeal Court hearing leaves inquiry on hold

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Social worker Marnie Saunderson told the inquiry Friday mountains of complex cases still push the limits of the child-welfare system. (MELISSA TAIT / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Photo Store

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   • A frightful picture of a system in crisis

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Handout Phoenix Sinclair was murdered in 2005.

The inquiry into the death of Phoenix Sinclair came to a sudden halt -- and could be suspended for months -- after a Manitoba Court of Appeal ruling.

During an afternoon break Friday, as the inquiry into how the Manitoba child's life and tragic 2005 death fell through the cracks of the province's child-welfare system, Justice Marc Monnin announced a legal tussle over witness interviews should receive a full-fledged hearing. That means the inquiry is now on hold until the Appeal Court can hear arguments and rule on the case, which is likely to happen in October.

"We have a wonderful system, and as someone who's been a trial judge for 18 years, I've been through this before," inquiry commissioner Ted Hughes said before he officially suspended proceedings. "I'm grateful for the time and attention of Justice Monnin, and I shall comply."

At issue in the legal complaint are thousands of pages of transcripts from more than 120 witness interviews, made from recordings by commission lawyer Sherri Walsh and her staff. Originally, those interviews were supposed to be summarized in lawyers' notes only, but to ease the process, inquiry lawyers began recording and transcribing the interviews.

Walsh assured interviewees the transcripts would remain private and they were not released to lawyers representing other parties at the inquiry.

Lawyers for the Child and Family Services All Nations Co-ordinated Response Network and other child-welfare agencies objected, arguing to the Appeal Court there could be important information in the complete transcripts that was not reflected in the notes.

On Friday, Monnin agreed the complaint could move forward.

The Sinclair inquiry itself is not in jeopardy; Monnin's decision does not challenge its legitimacy. But it could delay the proceedings for months, especially if Walsh and her staff are required to release the interview transcripts. The process of redacting personal discussions from the transcripts could take weeks.

"People would talk about emotions. Sometimes people vented about their experience in the system," she said. "The purpose of the interviews isn't different from when we had lawyers taking notes... the transcripts were for our internal purposes."

Provincial Family Services Minister Jennifer Howard expressed disappointment in the delay. "While I accept the ruling of Justice Monnin, I share the frustrations of many Manitobans who want to see this inquiry continue as quickly as possible," she said in a statement.

The suspensions came near the end of the inquiry's third day of testimony, which saw two social workers describe how child-welfare workers struggled to keep up with a rising tide of need -- especially in parts of North Winnipeg, where gangs spread out their "octopus-like grasp" and families reeled from generations of abuse, addictions and crushing poverty.

"We were being asked to deliver child-welfare service in probably the most daunting community in this country, with human resources that were grossly insufficient to meet (its) needs," testified Andrew Orobko, who was a supervisor at a Winnipeg Child and Family Services intake unit when Phoenix was born.

Orobko described how, during the time Phoenix was alive between 2000 and 2005, his staff often juggled 20 to 40 open intake files at a time -- double or triple the recommended number. Orobko took on case files to help ease social workers' burdens -- including baby Phoenix's, for a short time.

Though more money and more workers were injected into the child-welfare system after Phoenix was murdered by her mother and stepfather, mountains of complex cases still push the limits of the system, social worker Marnie Saunderson testified on Friday morning. "There needs to be more social workers," she bluntly told the inquiry.

Few tales could describe the challenges social workers face more starkly than that of Phoenix's mother, Samantha Kematch, who was convicted of first-degree murder after abusing her child to death. Kematch was born into a family of abusers and chronic alcoholics, and spent her teens bouncing between foster homes and institutions, filled with rage and hurtling into alcohol and crime.

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 8, 2012 A4