Province, Indigenous leaders ink declaration to transfer child-welfare jurisdiction

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This article was published 13/05/2024 (536 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba government and nearly 40 Indigenous leaders from across the province signed a declaration Monday committing to the transfer of jurisdiction over child welfare to First Nations.

The announcement came hours after the Progressive Conservatives pushed the government on the status of a promised child-welfare review of the Feb. 11 death of Myah-Lee Gratton that was expected at the end of the end of April, and if its findings will be made public.

The 17-year-old girl was one of five members of a family killed, allegedly by the 29-year-old man whose Carman home she lived in.

“We know Myah’s call to her CFS worker went to voicemail, where she said she was not safe in her home,” PC families critic Lauren Stone told the house during question period Monday.

She wanted to know when Manitobans can expect to see the findings of an in-depth “Sec. 4” review of Gratton’s involvement with Child and Family Services that was ordered by Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine in early March and expected at the end of April.

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

During question period Monday, Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith defended Fontaine, who was meeting with First Nations leaders to sign the declaration committing to the transfer of jurisdiction over child welfare.

“She is working towards getting children back to their families, where they should be,” Smith told the house.

In 2020, Bill C-92, An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families recognized Indigenous jurisdiction over child and family services, with the authority to pass and enforce laws related to the provision of child and family services to their citizens, supported by co-ordination agreements with Canada and the provinces.

Manitoba signed its first co-ordination agreement in 2023 with Peguis First Nation and the federal government, and more are expected in the coming years.

The agreements prioritize placements with family, kin or community for all children, and allow new agreement-based supports to prevent children from ending up in care.

“First Nations are best placed to care for their own children and today’s declaration is an important step forward as we work collaboratively to return responsibility for child welfare,” Fontaine said in a press release Monday.

During question period, Smith called on the Tory families critic to help government help kids in care, such as Gratton.

“I suggest the member opposite gets on board and starts working with the families minister to ensure something like this doesn’t happen again, instead of pointing the finger on the other side.”

A Sec. 4 review allowing the director of CFS to “inspect and obtain a copy of any record, paper 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” is confidential, but its finding can lead to reports and recommendations that are made public.

A spokesman for the families minister said Monday that the Sec. 4 report is expected to be completed in the coming days, but couldn’t say when, or which — if any — of the findings or recommendations would be made public.

The public has a right to know what went wrong in Gratton’s case in order to make sure it doesn’t happen again, Stone said.

“I cannot stress and emphasize how urgent it is that we see this report,” she told reporters outside the chamber.

“We need to take the lessons and understand what happened to Myah-Lee so that we ensure that this does not happen to any child again in Manitoba.”

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca