The past week at the Manitoba Legislature focused largely on the search for accountability. It wasn’t an easy search.
One of the key questions that was asked was about the search for answers around the tragic death of Phoenix Sinclair who was murdered more than five years ago after falling through the cracks of the province’s Child and Family Services (CFS) system. During the recently concluded public inquiry into Phoenix’s death, it was discovered that the case notes on Phoenix prepared by workers in Child and Family Services had gone missing and never found.
It appears that case notes on Phoenix went missing after the public inquiry had been called and after it was clear that these documents would be important in determining what went so tragically wrong with her care in CFS. When the Minister of Family Services was asked repeatedly this week how these important documents could have disappeared and who was responsible for the missing evidence, she had no response.
It appears that no one has been held accountable for the missing evidence and that the NDP government itself won’t take any responsibility. And the result of the missing notes is that we will never truly know all that went wrong in this case and won’t therefore be assured that all the changes that are needed have been made to prevent it from happening again.
Also this week Manitoba Progressive Conservative’s questioned the NDP Minister responsible for Manitoba Hydro about millions of dollars that have gone to the Tataskweyak Cree Nation (TCN) from Hydro to build a sewer system and a community club. Despite the fact that several million dollars have already been paid to TCN for both the sewer system and community centre neither have been built.
That has resulted in TCN community members demanding that there be accountability for where the millions of Manitoba Hydro dollars actually went. When the NDP Minister for Hydro was asked this question he responded by saying that it was very complicated. How complicated can it be? Millions of dollars went from Manitoba Hydro to TCN for a community centre and a sewer system that were not built. So where is the money?
The NDP Minister responsible for Manitoba Hydro (who wrote the cheques to TCN) has said he doesn’t know where the money has gone and he doesn’t feel that it’s his job to find out.
Missing case notes on the death of a young child in care and missing millions of dollars that were intended to help a community. And the NDP don’t feel they are accountable for any of it. Hardly what Manitobans expect from their government.
