Manitoba children’s advocate cites concerning trend in youth suicides

WINNIPEG – Manitoba’s children’s advocate is concerned about a growing trend in youth suicides.

Darlene MacDonald said more suicides by young people are being carried out by hanging as opposed to drug overdoses or other methods.

It’s a sign, she said, of a firm intent as opposed to a cry for help.

“Whereas previously we saw people taking drugs, and maybe having second thoughts or maybe crying out to parents or caregivers to say ‘I’ve overdosed’ — but there’s a chance to get them to the hospital in order to save them — with hanging, we find it very final,” MacDonald told a legislature committee examining her most recent annual report Monday.

The number of youth suicides in Manitoba is relatively small — it has varied between 11 and 20 in recent years. A few each year are kids in the child welfare system and MacDonald said there are a number of factors at play, including the lack of stability for kids who are shifted between foster homes.

Some children in the system may be moved between dozens of placements — homes, shelters and more — before they become adults.

“The number of moves that children have — their lack of connection to anybody significant in their lives — is quite concerning to us.”

Family Services Minister Kerri Irvin-Ross said the government is trying to increase stability for kids in care.

She pointed to a bill now before the legislature that would formalize so-called customary care — a process aimed at giving First Nation communities more of a say in the system. Its primary aim is to make it more likely that indigenous children can stay in their home communities instead of being shipped away, usually to Winnipeg.

“We acknowledge the impact of moving on children and that is not what we want to do at all. But we also need to ensure that the children are in the right placement, getting the care and support that they need,” Irvin-Ross said.

Opposition family services critic Ian Wishart said customary care can work well, but the government has released few details on its plan. He said even with community involvement, it appears the final decision on where kids will be housed will still be made by regional authorities, accountable to the province.

“So it is a little bit of smoke and mirrors to be quite honest.”