Number of Manitoba kids in care rises slightly

The number of children in care in Manitoba has increased for the first time in several years, prompting Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine to say the “bump” is part of a long-term problem that will require years to reverse.

“The child welfare system has been in place for generations. It’s going to take us time to get out of this trend,” she said Wednesday.

The department’s annual report shows the number of children in care increased to 9,172 in 2024-25 from 8,919 one year earlier — an increase of 253 children.

Ninety-one per cent of them are Indigenous. The over-representation of Indigenous kids is something Manitoba governments have been trying to reverse for decades.

Fontaine said reforms introduced by the NDP government are making a difference.

“What you’ll see is we are moving towards kinship and customary care agreements. That is children not coming into care at all, not coming formally into the system, (with) families — parents — retaining that parental guardianship,” she said in an interview.

There were 42 such cases in the latest annual report, with the number nearly doubling so far this fiscal year, she said.

A “whole-of- government approach” is trying to prevent children from entering care by addressing poverty, housing and health issues, said the minister, who pointed to Wednesday’s rollout of a government website with health information for new parents.

“So while there is a bump up, it’s going to take time,” Fontaine said.

“In the next five to 10 years, you’re really going to see a change in child welfare.”

In 2023, Peguis became the first First Nation in Manitoba to assume legal control over a child-welfare agency after the federal government passed Bill C-92, an Act Respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis Children, Youth and Families in 2020.

The legislation recognizes the inherent right of Indigenous people to exercise jurisdiction over their child and family services, and sets out national principles to reduce Indigenous over-representation in the system.

Fontaine has touted the agreement with Peguis as the model for decolonizing child welfare.

However, Peguis Chief Stan Bird called for the province to scrap the agreement earlier this month, saying the lack of oversight and transparency at Peguis CFS has resulted in children being turned away without receiving help.

Fontaine said she met with Bird last week and the government is working with Peguis First Nation and Peguis CFS “to be able to resolve those things.”

Jurisdiction provides them “all the tools and all the means to address any of the concerns that arise,” she said.

The president of the Manitoba Foster Parents Association said the rise in the number of children in care isn’t just a “bump” as described by the minister, but an indicator Manitoba is moving in the wrong direction.

“While the minister has repeatedly stated her intent to decolonize child welfare, there has been no transparent or detailed plan outlining how this will be achieved,” said Jamie Pfau. Without it, “these troubling numbers will only continue to rise,” she said.

Customary and kinship care agreements need to be expanded, but the province hasn’t provided sufficient investment in community capacity, supports for birth families or robust oversight and accountability mechanisms, she said.

“Chief Bird’s recent concerns underscore this reality; children in Peguis First Nation are currently at risk,” Pfau said.

Manitoba’s advocate for children and youth said there needs to be a federal children’s advocate who can make recommendations, since children under First Nations jurisdiction don’t have anyone “to carry out this important work.”

Tory families critic Jodie Byram said Fontaine gets defensive and tries to shut down people who have critical or opposing views when she should accept advice about ways to improve child welfare.

“She gets very defensive when things get heated.”

She asked why the minister, who was the families critic in opposition, hasn’t presented a detailed plan for decolonizing child welfare.

“She had years to come up with a plan. She saw how things were going, so she had time to come up with something.”

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca