Kinew ‘open’ to inquiry

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WINNIPEG — Premier Wab Kinew signalled Thursday he’s open to the possibility of an inquiry into Child and Family Services’ involvement with a Manitoba family before a mother, her three children and her teenage “cousin” were slain last weekend.

Kinew commented after the mother of 17-year-old victim Myah-Lee Gratton told the Winnipeg Free Press she had warned CFS against her daughter’s placement in a Carman home, based on safety concerns about the man now charged in the mass killing.

“We have a responsibility as government, when terrible things like this happen in our province, to ask the question: what went wrong and, more importantly, how are we going to fix it?” Kinew said at an unrelated news conference alongside Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

“How are we going to protect children, protect women, protect young people, protect vulnerable people in the future in Manitoba?

“I’m open to hearing the questions around a potential inquiry.”

Kinew said CFS legislation prevents him from commenting on specific cases.

“The internal work of asking these questions, pursuing accountability and with an eye towards the future of guaranteeing safety for people in Manitoba — young people, vulnerable people — that work is underway,” he added.

Gratton’s mother, Juliette Hastings, was encouraged to hear the premier is opening the door to an inquiry. She would like to see the province investigate and make recommendations so what happened last Sunday in and around Carman doesn’t happen again.

“Think of it as if it was your own child,” said Hastings. “What would you do? I’d move mountains. So, that’s what I’m trying to do.

“More has to be done, because there’s too many kids … that are just lost, wandering around, trying to find homes, and then they put them in homes that they think are safe, but they don’t do the safety check or the criminal record check till after.”

Gratton was living with Amanda Clearwater, 30, Clearwater’s common-law partner Ryan Manoakeesick, 29, and the couple’s three children: six-year-old Bethany, four-year-old Jayven and two-month-old Isabella.

Amanda Clearwater was the daughter of Hastings’ foster sister; Hastings looked upon Amanda as her niece. Though Amanda and Gratton were unrelated “cousins,” their close relationship was more akin to aunt and niece, the Free Press was told.

Gratton was found dead inside the Carman home, following the discoveries of Clearwater’s body in a ditch south of town and those of the children, near a burning vehicle north of Elie, in an alleged case of intimate partner violence.

Manoakeesick was arrested near the vehicle, about 70 kilometres north of Carman, and later charged with five counts of first-degree murder.

Hastings has said her daughter went to live with the family in spring 2023 after they had a fight, and CFS approved the placement. She said she repeatedly warned the agency her daughter wasn’t safe around Manoakeesick, because he was violent and aggressive.

Manoakeesick has had addiction and mental health issues, according to a previous court hearing for a mischief charge.

Hastings said she also wants answers directly from Winnipeg Child and Family Services.

Only the Manitoba government can call an inquiry, in which an appointed commissioner oversees hearings, produces a report with recommendations and can also find fault. Terms of reference are set out by the province.

The last to be held in Manitoba was for the death of five-year-old Phoenix Sinclair. Called in 2011, it looked into child-welfare services provided to Phoenix and her family before she was killed by her mother and stepfather.

Some of the inquiry’s 62 recommendations have not yet been implemented by the province.

Kinew said it would be up to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to decide whether to call an inquest into the deaths of Clearwater and the children.

In an inquest, a judge is tasked with making recommendations to prevent similar fatalities. The judge cannot find fault.

Kathryn Braun, director of the medical examiner’s office, said it’s too early to say if an inquest will be called.

“The investigation must be finalized and if there are any criminal charges to be laid, those must be dealt with first,” she wrote in an email.

The office of Manitoba’s advocate for children and youth, Sherry Gott, conducts its own reviews into the deaths of children who previously received resources through Child and Family Services.

“An inquiry into this tragedy is an option, but will take years to complete,” Gott told the Free Press. “As my office has stated in several previous reports, rights delayed are right denied. What children need is action today. They need to know that we hear their concerns, we know the realities they are facing and we care enough to help them.

“If this government does not act with respect to these reoccurring systemic issues, they will be failing children in Manitoba who desperately need all of us to do better.”

She called on the province to implement the remaining Phoenix Sinclair inquiry recommendations which remain relevant today.

Marie Christian, director of Voices: Manitoba’s Youth in Care Network, said the children’s advocate’s reviews are “good and thorough.”

“The challenge is those recommendations aren’t always followed through on (by the province),” said Christian.

According to Statistics Canada, Manitoba had the second-highest rate of intimate partner violence among Canadian provinces in 2022.

Meanwhile, a candlelight vigil for the victims is planned for Friday night outside the home where they lived in Carman, according to social media posts. The town is about 75 kilometres southwest of Winnipeg.

There are also plans to use financial donations for a wading pool with a memorial plaque, according to a GoFundMe page organized by a family member.

» Winnipeg Free Press