Cora Morgan, the children's advocate for Manitoba First Nations, says some child-welfare agencies are breaking the law and discriminating against indigenous family members. She claims some agencies are ignoring capable relatives who could care for children who are taken into care, and are instead placing them in the care of strangers. In one example, Morgan noted that a mother in labour called her because Child and Family Services was waiting to take her unborn baby because the mother was struggling with drug addiction. A great-aunt, who was already an approved foster parent, was ready to take in the infant, but the baby was instead placed with another foster parent. In another case, a woman was told by social workers that there was no one "suitable" on her reserve to serve as a foster parent and that the reserve "was no place for children."
By law, agencies are required to give priority to family members in finding a placement for children taken into care, but this is not happening in many cases. Morgan said there are no repercussions for agencies who ignore the law.
Manitoba has one of the highest child apprehension rates in Canada, and officials take into care an average of one newborn baby a day. The province has more than 10,000 kids in care, and the vast majority are indigenous.