Affidavit of Michael Bear - Phoenix Sinclair Inquiry

Department
of Family Services A Housing
[174] Tragedies such as occurred in this case unfortunately are not as rare as
we would like. There have been other cases, other fatality inquiries and
reports from various institutions providing numerous recommendations. As
was suggested at the inquest is there anything new that we can learn from
these tragic deaths. Well, perhaps not, but until the recommendations
previously made are implemented or new recommendations are considered
there will always be a public concern about what is being done to prevent
further occurrences.
[175] One of the witnesses at the inquest testified as to what steps
government had implemented to assist in preventing further deaths. Linda
Burnside is the Authorities Relations Director with the Department of
Family Services and Housing and as such works assisting the four
authorities, ensuring standards are met and helping them to address other
issues. In this particular case the governing Authority is the First Nation of
Southern Manitoba Child and Family Services Authority which is
responsible as of November 2003 for the Southeast Child and Family
Services. This is the divesting of Child and Family Services to four
Authorities for governing responsibility for child welfare agencies in the
province. The Southern Authority takes on the role of the former Director of
Child Welfare and the Child Protection Branch works with the Authority
meet its obligations under the legislation.
[176] As a result of the death of Phoenix Sinclair in March of 2006, reviews
were conducted and two reports were prepared and issued with
recommendations. One report was from the Office of the Children'
Advocate called "Honouring Their Spirits" (Exhibit 12) and the other was
under the auspices of the Ombudsman's Office called "Strengthening the
Commitment" (Exhibit 49). These two reports contained approximately 220
recommendations which were given to an implementation team to develop
strategies for implementing the recommendations. The result was the
"Changes for Children" action plan (Exhibit 46) which committed 42
million dollars to strengthen the child welfare system.
[177] Ms Burnside in her evidence gave a synopsis of the general themes
covered by the recommendations of these two reviews:
~ Workload relief
~ Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
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