School board’s plan violates rights of young people: children’s advocate

Backlash is mounting over the Steinbach school board’s plans to disregard “mature minor” status and recognize parents as primary decision makers in all student health matters.

“How is this in the best interest of young people?” said Sherry Gott, Manitoba’s advocate for children and youth.

Gott is the latest to denounce a motion that was unanimously adopted by the Hanover School Division board of trustees at their last public meeting.

The June 2 vote laid the groundwork for a new policy that is at odds with the mature minor doctrine — common law in Canada that recognizes some patients who have yet to turn 18 are mature enough to make their own treatment decisions.

Anyone aged 16 and older in Manitoba is automatically assumed to have the capacity to make medical-related decisions for themselves under the Health Care Directives Act.

Gott’s office released a statement this week saying her team was “appalled” that trustees appear to be overriding law.

“(The motion) violates the rights of young people. Young people are entitled to be part of the decision making when it impacts their health,” she told the Free Press, calling on the provincial government to intervene.

Trustee Cheryl Froese proposed the division, which has a partnership with Southern Health, stop honouring the mature minor doctrine.

Froese, a representative for Grunthal, argued all guardians in kindergarten through Grade 12 should be kept in the know about physical and mental health treatments, including counselling, available through the division.

Froese likened a mature minor to a “cheeseless cheeseburger” as she outlined her rationale on June 2.

Southern Health said it is gathering information and cannot comment on whether there will be any changes to its clinic in the Steinbach Regional Secondary School.

“Supporting safe, accessible care for youth remains a priority, and we will continue to collaborate with our partners as this evolves,” an unnamed spokesperson said in an email.

A Change.org petition urging trustees to reconsider the new policy had collected more than 430 signatures as of Wednesday morning.

“Our kids’ health matters more than our control because, I think, this has just become a big control issue,” said Jerica Capistrano, a mother of four children, two of whom are teenagers, who launched the petition last week.

Capistrano said the school’s health clinic is convenient for students whose caregivers have, hopefully, raised them “to have their own voice” by the time they’ve reached their mid-teens.

She noted that teenagers don’t always want to confide in their parents and health practitioners have the expertise to make judgment calls in their best interest.

Capistrano recalled she was informed “every step of the way” when one of her teens, who was in no state to provide informed consent at the time, accessed mental health support at school.

The clinic — where her two eldest children have sought prescription renewals and concussion treatment, among other services — has been “life-changing” for her family, she said.

Multiple parents told the Free Press family doctors are all but impossible to obtain in the region and walk-in sites are overrun.

Education Minister Tracy Schmidt said she had a productive meeting with trustees on Monday to discuss concerns raised by community members, including the Hanover Parents’ Alliance for Diversity.

Her office and the health department are “reviewing” the motion on mature minor consent, Schmidt said.

“Every decision I make in this office is guided by the saying that, ‘every child matters,’” she said.

The parent alliance is calling on the minister to re-establish a third-party adviser to monitor the board’s decision-making processes and “establish a clear public mandate, timeline, and reporting structure for that oversight process.”

Schmidt’s predecessor tapped Kelly Barkman, a retired superintendent, to serve as an independent adviser to the board in the summer of 2024. Barkman left the post midway through the current school year.

Jane Wilson, a parent involved with the alliance, accused trustees of inciting division by introducing controversial policies that pits families and school staff against each other.

“We’re all here because we want our children to be healthy, happy and successful,” Wilson said.

Board chair Dallas Wiebe declined an interview this week, but said in an email that a new policy is being developed to strengthen public confidence in local public schools.

Schools currently aim to strengthen family relationships rather than “create unnecessary separation,” Wiebe said.

“Nevertheless, the board has heard concerns from parents regarding trust, communication, and transparency,” he added.

The education minister said she’s confident there will be continued collaboration between the province and board that oversees 20 schools attended by nearly 9,200 students.

Superintendent Joe Thiessen, who recently announced he will leave later this year, did not provide comment.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca