ManitobaThe grand cief representing a group of First Nations in northeastern Manitoba says members have been left in shock after a young girl from one of their communities allegedly suffered “horrific abuse” at the hands of her foster parents last week.Adopting a more centralized approach to care might prevent similar tragedies: advocateLauren Scott · CBC News · Posted: Sep 24, 2025 8:36 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours agoAnishininew Okimawin Grand Chief Alex McDougall, who represents four northeastern Manitoba First Nations on the shores of Island Lake, says members have been left in shock after a young girl was taken to a Winnipeg hospital with critical injuries tied to child abuse. (Darin Morash/CBC)The grand chief representing a group of First Nations in northeastern Manitoba says members have been left in shock after a young girl from one of their communities allegedly suffered “horrific abuse” at the hands of her foster mother last week. The child was rushed to hospital with serious injuries from a home in north Winnipeg on Sept. 19.Police believe the girl, who was one of four children taken from the home last week, was injured sometime on Sept. 17 or Sept. 18 and did not receive the medical attention she needed. Another child was in stable condition after showing signs of being assaulted, police said. Anishininew Okimawin Grand Chief Alex McDougall confirmed the critically injured girl was from one of the four First Nations surrounding Island Lake that his government represents. Police recently removed four children from a home in Winnipeg’s Riverbend neighbourhood, two of whom had been injured. (Gary Solilak/CBC)”Every person that’s heard of the incident, I know their reaction is one of shock and disbelief that something like this can and is happening to our most vulnerable, our children, in our communities,” McDougall said. He said he believes that the girl was being cared for through a kinship care agreement — an agreement between a child-welfare agency, the child’s parent/guardian and a kinship caregiver that allows the child to live with the caregiver, who has a significant relationship to the family. He said he went to the hospital where the girl was being treated to offer support to the family. “Right now our focus is on having healing and recovery of the little girl,” he said. The girl’s 25-year-old foster mother has been charged with aggravated assault, assault and failing to provide the necessaries of life. Police say her foster father, 26, has been charged with failing to provide the necessaries of life.Manitoba’s child advocate has promised to investigate the incident. Manitoba child-welfare system ‘running on chaos’ Jamie Pfau, president of the Manitoba Foster Parent Association, says the province’s inconsistent child-welfare system is “running on chaos,” as care is currently split with little consistency among four primary authorities and dozens of agencies.Jamie Pfau, president of the Manitoba Foster Parent Association, has been caring for children as a foster parent for 15 years. (Mike Arsenault/CBC)Pfau, who has 15 years of experience as a foster parent, said Manitoba’s “siloed approach to child welfare” makes the serious abuse this young girl reportedly experienced sadly unsurprising, calling the recent tragedy a “symptom of the system we are trying to exist in.” “The province is apprehending children that they don’t have the supplies, the supports or the resources to care for adequately. We see this in a big way, based on the events that happened last week,” she said. Manitoba’s Child and Family Services system is administered by four authorities: First Nations of Northern Manitoba Child and Family Services Authority. Southern First Nations Network of Care. Métis Child and Family Services Authority. General Child and Family Services Authority. They are responsible for making sure child and family services are provided across the province. Each authority mandates multiple child-welfare agencies that provide direct services to children and families on its behalf. There are an estimated 12,000 children in the child-welfare system in Manitoba, according to the First Nations Family Advocate Office. About 90 per cent of in-care children are Indigenous, the office said. Manitoba has the highest rate of children in the foster system in Canada, with 29.6 children per 1,000 receiving out-of-home care, 2024 data from the Canadian Child Welfare Information System shows.Pfau says that despite the high number of children in the decentralized system, foster parents and frontline workers often don’t have the resources and training they need to support the kids in their care. She said foster parents are not required to complete training in Manitoba, but offering this across the board would go a long way toward helping parents and front-line workers better support children in the system. The Kinship and Foster Family Network of Manitoba provides education and peer support programs for foster and interim parents. The network’s executive director Linda Ens told CBC News she would like to see this training become mandatory in the province. “I think it would be very helpful, especially for new foster parents coming in and just starting out,” Ens said. The Manitoba government gives more than $550,000 per year to the network to provide training to families across the province, Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine said in a statement to CBC News on Wednesday. In a written statement to CBC News on Wednesday, Manitoba Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine said her “No.1 priority is the safety of children in care.” (Tyson Koschik/CBC)She said training is also available through the four child-welfare authorities. “My No.1 priority is the safety of children in care, no matter who is caring for them,” Fontaine said.Pfau believes a more unified foster system could help address the gaps that have left children vulnerable to abuse, just like the young girl recovering in a Winnipeg hospital. “I do believe that these incidents can be prevented with a more thoughtful approach to child welfare in Manitoba,” she said. Foster care abuse case highlights need for more training: advocateA school-aged girl remains in critical condition after suffering life-altering injuries in a Winnipeg foster home. One advocate is calling for more training for foster parents. CorrectionsAn earlier version of this story incorrectly said the First Nations Family Advocate Office reports about 10 per cent of in-care children are Indigenous. In fact, the number the office cites is 90 per cent.Sep 24, 2025 10:19 PM EDTABOUT THE AUTHORLauren Scott is a Winnipeg-based reporter with CBC Manitoba. They hold a master’s degree in computational and data journalism, and have previously worked for the Hamilton Spectator and The Canadian Press.With files from Mike Arsenault
Island Lake First Nations focus on healing after girl critically injured by alleged abuse
