Treaty 1 Territory, Homeland of the Red River Métis, Winnipeg, MB -
Cindy Lamoureux, Interim Leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party and MLA for Tyndall Park says she is “disappointed, but not surprised” to see the NDP defeat her request for unanimous support for an emergency debate on children in care.
“When it comes to children in care, this government has shown today they are not interested in rising above partisan politics and the concerns of children in care seriously. Government has a responsibility to show that it is accountable and approaching this issue in a proactive way. Unfortunately the NDP have shown the opposite of that today.”
Under legislative procedures, MLAs can bring forward a request for ‘leave’ from other parties to commence debate on Matters of Urgent Public Importance, and there is precedent for debate on pressing issues to take place.
“After so many stories of children falling through the cracks, we have a responsibility to come together and amplify voices of those in the system, and bring forward solutions,” says Lamoureux.
“When we talk about creating positive outcomes for children in care, we are looking to this government to take immediate action after so many of these issues have been swept under the rug for decades. We are hopeful that when the provincial budget is released next month, children in care will be put first,” Manitoba Foster Parent Association President Jamie Pfau says.
In December 2019, Manitoba’s Auditor General prepared a report on Foster Homes in the province, making 112 recommendations, which includes 28 recommendations to the Department of Families. Some of these recommendations include:
Recommendation 3: The Department promptly… review basic maintenance rates to ensure the rates cover the costs incurred by foster parents and place of safety caregivers
Recommendation 19: The Department in consultation with the authorities establish required security checks on foster parents and other adults living in the home / follow up actions that should be taken when foster parents do not comply with safety standards.
Recommendation 36: The Department review and monitor CFS Authority reporting of quality assurance review activities and key results.
In the AG’s follow up report on September 30, 2022, the department had completed none of them. To date, there continues to be no indication that the department has implemented any of these recommendations.