Since 1999, 145 children died while under the protection of the province of Alberta. But only 56 of those deaths were reported in the government's annual reports. Reporters uncovered details.
Photo Credit: Timorose

More aboriginal children died in foster care

145 children have died while in foster care in the province of Alberta since 1999 and a disproportional number were aboriginal or mixed aboriginal and Caucasian, called Métis. The news was uncovered by investigative reporters and has caused a furor in that western province.

Information about the ethnic origins of the children was only available for 94 of the children who died and a staggering 74 were First Nations (formerly called Indian), Inuit (northern tribes) or Métis. Yet these three groups make up only nine per cent of Alberta’s children.

31 of these children who died were in their teens and 24 were infants. 13 died in accidents, 12 committed suicide and 10 were the victims of homicide.

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“Stop failing our children”

“We believe that we as a society have to stop failing our children,” says Dr. Raj Sherman, an emergency and trauma physician, and leader of the opposition Liberal party in Alberta. “…Alberta is one of the wealthiest places on the planet. This should not happen here.” He is calling for a full and independent public inquiry into the state of the province’s aboriginal children in foster care and their alarming death rate.

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A full and independent inquiry must discover why so many aboriginal children died in Alberta’s foster care, says Dr. Raj Sherman.

“We all share this responsibility”

Aboriginal children who live on special reserves set aside for native people are under the jurisdiction of the Canadian federal government. It has funded and mandated many band councils to look after children’s services. Those who live off the reserves are under the jurisdictions of whatever province or territory they live in. But Raj says everyone is responsible.

“Really there’s only one taxpayer and there’s one voter whether it’s a municipal government, provincial government or federal government. We all share this responsibility as a society,” says Raj. He has written to the prime minister of Canada asking that he intervene. He is calling for an open discussion from all levels of government and society to find out how they failed to protect these children and to binding solutions.

“We should do better”

“As an emergency physician we apprehend children if they’ve been neglected by families and parents,” says Raj. “Our duty as a society is to protect these children and improve their lives.

“When they’re dying in the hands of the government that’s a problem. The federal and provincial governments have a responsibility and a legal and moral duty to address this issue. And I simply believe we should do better.”

Categories: Health, Indigenous, Politics, Society
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