Tories push for inquiry into slaying of Carman teen

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This article was published 07/03/2024 (553 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Progressive Conservatives have demanded an inquiry into last month’s slaying of a 17-year-old girl who was in care.

Myah-Lee Gratton was one of five people killed in Carman, allegedly by the 29-year-old man whose home she lived in.

“The minister and the premier need to act now before we lose another young person,” Tory MLA Lauren Stone said during question period Thursday, referring to the Feb. 11 tragedy.

Ryan Manoakeesick, who has a history of substance abuse and mental-health struggles, is charged with five counts of first-degree murder in the killings of his common-law partner, 30-year-old Amanda Clearwater, their three children — two-month old Isabella, four-year-old Jayven and six-year-old Bethany — and Myah-Lee, Clearwater’s 17-year-old cousin.

The teen had reached out to Child and Family Services and pleaded to be moved from her placement because she worried about her safety, the Free Press has reported.

“We demand that this minister immediately call an inquiry into this tragedy,” said Stone.

Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine wouldn’t agree to hold an inquiry. Instead, she said she has ordered an in-depth “section 4” review of Myah-Lee’s involvement with CFS.

Section 4 of the Child and Family Services Act gives the CFS director authority to fully review a case. It requires any person who, in the opinion of the director, is able to give information, to provide it.

It allows the director to enter and inspect the premises where a child is placed and to “inspect and obtain a copy of any record, paper or thing, or a sample of any material, food, medication, or thing that, in the opinion of the director, relates to an agency, a child, a child care facility, or to any matter being investigated by the director.”

Such reviews were conducted following the high-profile deaths of five-year-old Phoenix Sinclair in 2005 and two-year-old Gage Guimond in 2007.

“I think that all of us are devastated in respect of news that’s been happening in the last several weeks,” Fontaine said in the chamber. “Every child that dies is an extension of ourselves, and our response as Manitobans, and the type of province that we want to have,” she said.

On Wednesday, Premier Wab Kinew did not rule out an inquiry if systemic questions remain about what went wrong in the teen’s case after criminal proceedings wrap up.

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs said Thursday it wants a probe done right away, not only into Myah-Lee’s case, but also the recent deaths of five other First Nations children in care.

In the past three months, six First Nations children and youth died while involved with the child welfare system, the organization said. They include an infant and two 14-year-old girls in December and Myah-Lee and two infants in February.

Myah-Lee’s death, it said, is “symptomatic of systemic issues within the child welfare system that require immediate attention.”

The organization, which represents 62 reserves in Manitoba, said First Nations leadership must be empowered to take full control of the care and protection of First Nations children.

“The AMC stands ready to collaborate with the Manitoba government and First Nations Leadership to address the systemic issues plaguing the child welfare system,” it said.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca