A Sad Day at the Manitoba Legislature

It has been a rough week in the Manitoba Legislature with the release of the Auditor General's report into the Aiyawin Scandal and the shocking details surrounding the tragedy of Phoenix Sinclair. (see
http://www.manitobaliberals.ca/2006/03/aiyawin-corporation_15.html and http://www.manitobaliberals.ca/2006/03/phoenix-sinclair.html )

Both of these troubling incidents reveal a pattern of mismanagement within the Department of Family Services and Housing. In the tragic case of Phoenix Sinclair, administrative mismanagement appears to have resulted in Phoenix being lost by the system, with no follow up after being in the care of Manitoba Child and Family Services.

In the case of the Aiyawin Corporation, the Auditor General's report reveals that many red flags were raised warning the government of problems at Aiyawin. Time after time, however, the Minister responsible reacted too slowly and the result was that hundreds of thousands of dollars were depleted from the Aiyawin reserves, even while the honest whistleblowers suffered. And there is still no word from the government if it plans to refer the case to the RCMP to look into laying charges for the misappropriation of funds.

So, it was with great reluctance and only after this mountain of evidence of administrative and financial bungling became fully clear, that I reached the conclusion that I must call for the resignation of Family Services and Housing Minister Christine Melnick.

I have no doubt that she is, as with all Members of the Legislature, well intentioned and tried her best. But sometimes doing one's best is simply not good enough; the job has to be done properly. Unfortunately, it is now painfully clear that Ms. Melnick failed in providing the required ministerial oversight for her department. She should now do the honourable thing and resign from her post.