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CBC
29-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
Hundreds of serious injuries reported involving kids in care 'tip of the iceberg': Manitoba youth advocate
Social Sharing WARNING: This article contains discussion of sexual abuse and self-harm. Hundreds of children in the care of Manitoba government services were seriously injured over an 18-month period — including dozens of instances of sexual assault — according to a newly released report by the province's advocate for children and youth. Children's advocate Sherry Gott says those numbers are likely "only the tip of the iceberg," because of underreporting in the system. "Serious injuries impacting young people are regrettably not a new phenomenon," Gott said at a Thursday press conference announcing the findings of her office's serious injury reviews and investigation program. "However, the legislative responsibility to aggregate and disseminate findings related to these horrific incidents is." The 78-page report is the first time the Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth has publicly released comprehensive information on the number and cause of serious injuries related to children in care. Provincial legislation came into effect in 2023 that requires serious injuries to any youth receiving reviewable services to be reported to the advocate. That would include injuries to youth in the care of Child and Family Services and youth receiving mental health, addiction or justice services. Creating a serious injury reviews and investigations program for the advocate was one of the recommendations made in the inquiry into the death of Phoenix Sinclair, a five-year-old girl who had spent time in foster care before she was abused and killed by her mother and stepfather in 2005. The program gives the advocate the ability to identify issues and gaps in the system, Gott said Thursday. "Serious injury reviews are a new and unique opportunity in Manitoba to ensure children's rights are protected," she said. Numbers 'an incomplete representation' The advocate was notified of 367 serious injuries during the first 18 months of the program's inception, according to the report released Thursday. More than half of those notifications — 218 — came from Child and Family Services authorities. A serious injury is defined as anything that is life-threatening, requires admission to the hospital and is expected to cause serious long-term impairment, or is the result of a sexual assault. But confusion over what constitutes a serious injury, a lack of motivation to report and insufficient staff training are some of the barriers that make the advocate believe serious injuries are going unreported, said the report. "These numbers should be viewed as an incomplete representation of serious injuries sustained by young people," the report said. Some organizations did not submit a single referral during the reporting period, it noted. Over 220 of the reported injuries met the criteria to be reviewed by the advocate, and 140 of those assessments were completed in time for the report. Of those, close to half — 58 — were the result of a sexual assault. Another 25 injuries were from a weapon (21 of which were stabbings), 19 were suicide attempts and 14 involved assaults. There were also nine accidental injuries, eight that were the result of an overdose, four that involved self-harm and three that were from severe neglect. In total, 94 per cent of the injuries were connected with a youth in CFS care, and 91 per cent involved a youth of Indigenous ancestry. The majority of sexual assault victims were cisgender females, one-third of whom had a neurodevelopment disability or a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, the report said. More than 20 of the sexual assaults involved young people between the ages of 11 and 17 who were sexually exploited, sometimes by multiple different people. The report said that figure only scratches the surface of the "real degree of sexual exploitation occurring across Manitoba." Two of the youth were sexually assaulted by a person they were placed with by CFS, "serving as a horrific indication that some youth are being harmed by those entrusted by the province to care for them," the report stated. Gott said the province's response to sexual assault is "outdated," and prevention — through legislation or programming — must be a priority. The advocate's office found there were not enough resources to protect youth from sexual exploitation, and there was not enough emphasis on preventing them from being exploited in the first place. Finding missing youth who are experiencing exploitation also needs to be prioritized, the report said. Systemic issues The 19 suicide attempts revealed problems with the province's current mental health system, the report said, noting lengthy wait lists for treatment, and a lack of mental health and addictions services in rural and remote communities. The report identified other systemic issues for government organizations to address, including: The need for specialized placements to support youth with complex needs. A lack of involuntary treatment options for young people at serious risk of harm. A shortage of services for youth who are being sexually exploited. Overall resource scarcity for youth experiencing both mental health and harmful substance-use challenges. The hope is that the report will encourage more government bodies to report serious injuries so gaps can be identified and more can be done to prevent the injuries, its conclusion states. If you or someone you know is struggling, here's where to look for help:
CBC
20-05-2025
- CBC
P.E.I. truck driver to continue working with ankle monitor after sexually assaulting child
Social Sharing A Charlottetown man will spend the next two years under house arrest after sexually assaulting a child, but the terms of the sentence will let him continue working as a truck driver around the Maritimes to support his family. Mitchell John Millar, 35, was sentenced earlier this month in Summerside. That's after the judge took an adjournment to contemplate her decision on the joint sentencing recommendation put forward by Millar's lawyer and the Crown prosecutor. "A joint submission should not be rejected lightly," Judge Krista MacKay told the court. CBC News is withholding details including the timing, location and circumstances of the crime to protect the identity of the victim, who was under the age of 12 at the time of the assault. The incident is not connected to Millar's work as a truck driver. Reported to social worker According to the agreed statement of facts read in court on April 23, the child was known to Millar and the crime happened when they were alone. The victim told police Millar put his hand up the child's shorts. Millar then moved the child's underwear and began rubbing their genitals. The child later told police they were too young to understand what was happening to them at the time, so they "just sat there" while Millar touched them. The victim and another minor later reported the sexual assault to a Child and Family Services social worker. That person relayed the allegation to the RCMP for investigation. Millar was originally charged with both sexual interference and sexual assault, but the interference charge was stayed in exchange for his guilty plea to the sexual assault. Joint submission for 'abhorrent' crime At the sentencing hearing on April 23, Crown prosecutor Colin Trewin called Millar's sexual assault of the child "abhorrent" and "deeply offensive to the public conscience." Millar's lawyer, Simon Frizzell, spoke about Millar's upbringing, which he characterized as "short of pleasant" — an absent father, an abusive stepfather and past struggles with mental health and addictions. The court also heard Millar responded well to therapy and treatment programs in the past, having served eight months on a drug trafficking charge without going on to use the substances involved since then. Frizzell and Trewin put forward a joint recommendation of two years less a day of house arrest. That would allow Millar to continue working to support his spouse and her five children; he is the father of three of them. Frizzell said the family would surely slip into poverty without Millar's income. Millar will be wearing an electronic ankle monitor that tracks his movements, and will have to stay at home when not working. A joint submission should not be rejected lightly. — Provincial court Judge Krista MacKay He told the court he works as a truck driver and goes to Halifax at least five days a week, as well as making an occasional trip to New Brunswick. He leaves his home early in the morning and arrives back late in the evening. That schedule is what gave MacKay pause. She pondered whether the sentence was truly punitive if Millar was off travelling the region in a truck. MacKay also asked the Crown prosecutor if he had known the extent of Millar's daily off-Island travel when signing onto the joint recommendation for house arrest. Trewin told Judge MacKay he had not been aware of those specifics, but he still believed the circumstances made it appropriate for Millar to serve his time in the community rather than behind bars. Under Canadian law, judges are asked to accept joint submissions unless doing so would bring the justice system into disrepute or be against the public interest. MacKay told the court that sets a high bar for rejecting a joint proposal, and she needed some time before making a decision. 'Not contrary to public interest' The judge returned on May 2 to say that rejecting joint submissions is rare, and the circumstances under which a judge can do so have been laid out by the Supreme Court of Canada. MacKay said it's not about whether she personally believes the sentence is fit. "I was quite concerned … there were facts unknown to counsel and not considered," she told the court, but ultimately, she said she had decided to accept the recommendation. "I am satisfied that the joint recommendation is consistent with and not contrary to the public interest," she said. MacKay pointed out that the length of the house arrest sentence — two years less a day — is more time than Millar would be sentenced to if a jail sentence were imposed. Millar will have to provide a sample of his DNA, he can't own weapons for 10 years, and he will be a registered sex offender for 20 years.
Edmonton Journal
16-05-2025
- Health
- Edmonton Journal
'They cared only for themselves': Crown seeks 8 year sentence for Calgary parents who killed their toddler
Article content CALGARY — A Crown prosecutor is calling for a Calgary couple who killed their badly burned and emaciated toddler to be sentenced to eight years in prison. Sonya Pasqua and Michael Sinclair pleaded guilty last year to manslaughter in the death of Gabriel Sinclair-Pasqua. The 18-month-old died in 2021 from an infection and head trauma. He had major burns to a third of his body. Article content An agreed statement of facts says the parents didn't seek medical treatment after the boy was scalded with boiling water and his burns were treated with honey. A pediatric surgeon testified the burns would have required emergency medical care and immediate hospitalization. Prosecutor Vicki Faulkner told a sentencing hearing Friday that the couple saw their son as a paycheque. Court previously heard a text exchange between the parents that discussed how Gabriel needed to heal 'cause we still need him as a paycheque.' 'This was not a case of a spontaneous lashing out causing the death of Gabriel. This was not a case of parents who believed in alternative medicine and who loved and cared for the child,' Faulkner told the hearing. 'They witnessed the pain he was in. They cared only for themselves.' Faulkner said the parents made the boy suffer. Article content 'The harm and the pain of extreme burns to 33 per cent of his body for, at the very least, a week — how long he suffered is unknown, as selfishly both accused told conflicting stories to police.' The prosecutor cited a text exchange between Pasqua and Sinclair discussing the boy's injuries a week before his death. 'We need him to heal then we can send him off to a facility 'cause we still need him as a paycheque,' Sinclair said in response to Pasqua's comments on the child. The boy was taken by Child and Family Services as a newborn, after his mother tested positive for cocaine, alcohol and marijuana, and he was placed in the care of a great-uncle. He was returned to his parents months before he died. Court heard seven victim impact statements from family members, who told court of their grief. Gabriel's great-uncle Gerry Bakoway said he and his wife are still mourning. 'Alice and I know that Gabriel is now healthy and happy and not in any pain. Also in our mourning, we try to focus on the 17-and-a-half months of joy Gabriel brought us,' he said. Article content 'Only time and tears take away grief.' Sydney Ikzwnski said Gabriel was always loved, held and played with when he was in the care of her grandparents. 'Your safety was everything to them, and when it was ripped out of their hands they were terrified. Well, now I see why,' she said. 'It didn't need to turn out this way. Everything that happened to (Gabriel) should have been prevented by the adults in his life. Now an innocent baby boy is dead, and I can't wrap my mind around how he was neglected. 'It will never bring our boy back.' — With additional reporting from the Calgary Herald Latest National Stories
CBC
29-01-2025
- Health
- CBC
Two Nunavut mothers outline issues with Family Services' foster system
Two mothers from the same Nunavut community say the Department of Family Services have been rude and disrespectful to them. Lily and Sophia, whose names have been changed for this story to protect the identities of their children, both told CBC News similar stories of being dismissed or kept in the dark by Child and Family Services workers, with one alleging the workers were rude and disrespectful to Inuit clients. "We're not being treated the way a human should be treated," said Lily. "When you're not treated like a human being and you're just being sent left, right and centre, it's very traumatic." Multiple interview requests made to Family Services regarding the mothers' stories were denied. CBC News also submitted a series of generic questions about the foster system, which were not responded to. This comes after a 2023 report by the Auditor General of Canada issued a scathing review of child and family services in Nunavut. Regarding foster care, it found that Child and Family Services didn't know about the well-being of the children they included in their sample size. In addition, the report found that of the foster homes surveyed, "the department did not thoroughly screen these new homes or carry out required reviews of the established ones." "We concluded that the Department of Family Services consistently failed to take action to protect and support the wellbeing of vulnerable children, youth, and their families in accordance with legislation, policy, and program requirements," the report stated in its conclusion. Lily said she initially called Child and Family Services when she was struggling with postpartum and post-trauma depression in 2016, which led to harmful thoughts about her kids and herself. However, the department only intervened once an acquaintance of hers called RCMP. Her children were placed in foster care for three months, she said. "They came home with scars; they came home with missing hair," Lily said, adding one child told her they were forced to eat different food than their host family. It wouldn't be the last time they would be put in the system. In 2018, they were taken away again for several years. Lily said when she tried to get answers, two Department of Family Services employees blamed her instead for the situation. She said she had a meeting with deputy minister Jonathan Ellsworth over it, but hasn't seen any improvement. "I've spoken about how it had affected my children and my family," Lily said. "It's unfortunate that I still have to deal with the same system; that systemic racism." Sophia, who has struggled with alcohol, said she has had her own issues with the foster care system. Some of her children went into the system in 2020. She hasn't heard from her children since then because, she says, Family Services is still figuring out how to put them in touch. In the meantime, Sophia heard from members of her former partner's family that one of her children was sexually abused — a revelation that upset her so much she went to the Family Services office and screamed at the worker on site. "I started screaming at her and asking her why she didn't tell me and why did I have to hear it from my friend," Sophia said. "I smashed up her desk and threw her garbage." Sophia said Family Services workers also told her one of her children didn't want to be returned to her home. "I don't believe that," she said. "I believe she wants to go home to her mother and family." Both women say they want things to change at Family Services. Lily said she has tried to be part of that change — she was accepted into the social service worker program at Nunavut Arctic College and hopes to one day be able to support families herself. In the meantime, she is still trying to get answers from Family Services about what her children went through. "I don't know where else to go," she said.
