Judge expressed concern for teen day before slaying Lack of provincial funding cited in struggle to find home for girl killed on downtown street By: Dean Pritchard and Chris Kitching Posted: 5:52 PM CST Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023

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This article was published 20/12/2023 (665 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Just one day before a 14-year-old girl was stabbed to death in downtown Winnipeg, a judge expressed alarm over the lack of appropriate housing supports to keep her safe.

“I just think in this province, at this time, when we have deep concerns about missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, how is that not a priority to see that she has the resources?” provincial court Judge Kusham Sharma said at a Dec. 14 bail hearing for the girl.

“A residence is the major part of the resources that will keep her away from the risk.”

The teen was recently taken into custody, charged with biting an outreach worker on the arm and a handful of curfew-related offences and released on bail Dec. 14.

The next day, at about 1 p.m., she was stabbed multiple times during an argument outside the Cargill Building on Graham Avenue, just west of Fort Street and close to the Winnipeg Police Service headquarters.

A 17-year-old boy was arrested Monday in the St. Boniface neighbourhood and charged with second-degree murder. He was set to make his second court appearance Wednesday.

Police said the victim was with a male and two female witnesses, all of whom knew each other.

At the time the girl was granted bail, a firm placement had not yet been secured for her, court heard last week.

“What (she) needs and what will be best for her, the province will not fund,” Tammy Oram, the girl’s case worker, told court.

“I wish she was a priority for the province,” she said. “Unfortunately, we have many youth that have similar needs to (hers) or are in similar predicaments.”

“I wish she was a priority for the province…Unfortunately, we have many youth that have similar needs to (hers) or are in similar predicaments.”–Tammy Oram

Court heard the girl struggled with an addiction, was on a wait list for a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder assessment, and frequently went missing from her previous foster home.

Oram said if a foster home could not be found for the girl by 4 p.m. that day, she would be provided an emergency placement.

The Indigenous teen’s death has raised questions about public systems intended to support and protect vulnerable children.

She spent much of her life in the child welfare system and was moved between homes in northern Manitoba and Winnipeg in the months before she was killed, a former foster mother said.

Oram told court last week she was trying to secure a specialized placement for the girl but, as a child in provincial care, that was out of reach without additional funding.

“We’ve sought Jordan’s Principle for assistance with what the province won’t cover for what her needs are, (but) Jordan’s Principle is just very backlogged now,” she said.

The Jordan’s Principle program requires governments of first contact to cover the costs of services for Indigenous children and work out jurisdiction disputes later.

Oram said efforts were being made to change the girl’s status to that of an off-reserve, federally-funded child “which would open up doors for her.” Another option was to find a home the teen could share with another federally-funded child, making her eligible for provincial funding.

“It’s not fair for (her) right now that we just don’t have the people out there to bring her in, make the connections, and give her what she needs.”

“It’s not fair for (her) right now that we just don’t have the people out there to bring her in, make the connections, and give her what she needs.”–Tammy Oram

The Free Press requested interviews with Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine and Justice Minister Matt Wiebe.

The province sent written statements Wednesday from Fontaine and an anonymous spokesperson, who said a caregiver must be in place before a youth is released from custody.

Fontaine said the girl’s death is “heartbreaking,” while offering condolences.

“As minister of families, I’m committed to making sure youth across our province are cared for and the organizations that help keep our children safe are well supported,” she wrote. “The children’s advocate will be reviewing this death and the circumstances surrounding it, and our government will work hard to minimize the risks for our most vulnerable youth, including Indigenous girls.”

Fontaine did not provide any specific examples of how the government will reduce risks for at-risk children.

Community activist and outreach worker Mitch Bourbonniere has worked with children who’ve been newly released by police or judges, following an arrest.

“In either of those circumstances, (a child) is not to be released until the guardian or someone responsible is coming to pick them up,” he said. “That’s how it’s supposed to happen.”

In terms of guardians or caregivers, Bourbonniere questioned who knew — or didn’t know — where the four youth were when the slaying happened.

The victim was a friend of some of the children Bourbonniere helps.

“Devastation,” he said, describing how the children feel. “Everybody is just upset.”

Chris Gamby, a spokesman for and member of the Criminal Defence Lawyers Association of Manitoba, said conferences, which can include a guardian, are sometimes held before a bail hearing to make arrangements for matters such as placement.

“Any bail hearing will have an element of where is this person going to go, what’s going to happen and who’s the guardian?”

The court, he noted, is ultimately there to determine whether an accused should be released on bail or detained.

It doesn’t become involved in the “weighty issue” of placement in every case, but judges and Crown and defence attorneys are aware of difficult circumstances within the child welfare system, Gamby added.

Advocates said the Dec. 15 slaying speaks to the need for more supports and positive influences for vulnerable children.

Marie Christian, director of Voices: Manitoba’s Youth in Care Network, said there are concerns when a child in care is transferred from a northern or rural community to a large centre such as Winnipeg.

“It’s a culture shock. It’s a very different pace,” she said, adding things have a chance of going “terribly out of control” if a child doesn’t have proper supports to help guide them and adjust to life in the city.

Christian was saddened violence was the “go to” in an incident that reportedly began as an argument.

“I immediately felt very bad for her and for the friends she was with, and also for the teenage boy (suspect),” she said. “I wish they all could have better outcomes.”

There were 8,990 children in care in Manitoba, as of March 31, according to the Families Department’s annual report for 2022-23 fiscal year. Of those, 91 per cent are Indigenous.

The previous year’s total was 9,196.

In 2022-23, a total of 93 per cent per cent were in home-like settings, such as foster homes or with relatives or people with “significant connections” to the child, the report says.

About four per cent were in group care, while the remaining children were in independent living or other care.

Children in care are those who’ve been deemed in need of protection or intervention or were voluntarily placed in care by a parent or guardian.

Manitoba’s advocate for children and youth Sherry Gott said her office will conduct a “full scope” review of any services provided to the slain teen.

The advocate reviews a child’s death if they received resources such as Child and Family Services, mental health, addictions or youth justice in the year before their death.

Gott has called for a provincial mental health strategy for youth.

The director of the CFS agency that was responsible for the girl said he cannot comment on her case.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca