Death concealed

June 6, 2006 permalink

Alberta conceals a death with confidentiality laws.

Just the meager information in the article, shows that the police are misleading the mother, and the public: SIDS is the death of a child under one year old. We are a lot less likely to find the true cause of death as long as the press conceals the names of the persons involved.

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Toddler dies in foster care

Girl found dead in crib

Edmonton Sun, June 5, 2006, By ELIZA BARLOW, Staff Writer

Instead of celebrating her youngest daughter’s second birthday Tuesday, a Hobbema mother will be laying flowers on the toddler’s grave.

On May 28, the 26-year-old mother was at home waiting for a visit from her four children – ages nine, five, three and one – who were placed in foster care in December.

But the children never arrived. In their place came a group of RCMP officers and social workers who told her that her baby was dead.

Now, the mother says she wants answers on how her child died in the Innisfail foster home.

“I don’t know what happened,” said the mother Monday. “She was happy and healthy and she was just starting to talk. She was just innocent and sweet.”

Sgt. Lyle Marianchuk of the Innisfail RCMP confirmed police responded to an Innisfail home at about 8:30 a.m. on May 28 for a report that a two-year-old girl had been found dead in her crib.

“An autopsy was conducted which led to the conclusion that no foul play was involved in the child’s death,” he said.

However, Marianchuk said police will not close their investigation until they receive the results of toxicology tests on the child, which normally take six to eight weeks.

Marianchuk said it appears the little girl may have died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)-related causes.

The mother freely provided her name and the name of her late child to the Sun. However, provincial law prohibits the Sun from publishing any information that would identify children in foster care.

The mother said her children were taken from her due to her alcohol problems. But she questions why the children had to be sent to Innisfail rather than be placed with their grandmother, her mother.

“They didn’t even take my kids to family. They just shipped them out there.”

Mel H. Buffalo, spokesman for the Indian Association of Alberta, said he’s troubled by the death of the little girl, buried by her family June 1.

“They take our kids away, send them to non-native families and then send them back in coffins,” he said.

Alberta Children’s Services spokesman Mary Lou Reeleder refused to comment on any aspect of the case, citing confidentiality laws. She said a “case review” is conducted whenever a child dies or is seriously injured in foster care.

Source: Edmonton Sun 1615922.html