Sinclair inquiry hears submissions for standing

More steps are being taken towards the long-awaited inquiry into the death of Phoenix Sinclair as two days of hearings begin to decide who will get standing.

The oral submissions are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday inside ameeting room at the Winnipeg Convention Centre.

A total of 17 organizations and individuals are seeking standing, includingthe Assembly of ManitobaChiefs, the provincial department of Child and Family Services, First Nations Child and Family Services of Northern and Southern Manitoba,former child advocate Billie Schibler,the Southern Chiefs Organization, and Phoenix's biological father, Steve Sinclair.

'We're here to celebrate her life and ensure that something positive comes of it.' George Derwin, lawyer

Thenext two days will also be used to establish the rules for proceeding with the inquiry who will get funding and what process will be followed.

Five-year-old Phoenix Victoria Hope Sinclair was killed on the Fisher River First Nation in June 2005.

Her body was uncovered in March 2006. She had been wrapped in plastic and buried in a shallow, unmarked grave near the garbage dump on the reserve.

On Dec. 12, 2008, her mother Samantha Kematch and her common-law husband Karl McKay were convicted of first degree murder.

They are not eligible for parole for 25 years.

Reported missing after 9 months

The inquiry, delayed byappeals filed by Kematch and McKay,is expected to begin in the fall.

Led by retired judge Ted Hughes who will serve as commissioner, theinquiry will examine how the provincial child welfare failed to protect Phoenix and why her death went undiscovered for months.

Phoenix spent most of her young life as a ward of Child and Family Services, living in foster care until Kematch regained custody in 2004. During the trial, court was told she died on June 11, 2005, but was not reported missing until nine months later.

A child welfare worker checked on the family in early 2005 but never saw Phoenix during the visit and no one ever followed up on the case.

Kematch and McKayeven applied for and received welfare payments in Phoenix's name after her death.

Repeated abuse

The pair, which has not sought standing at the inquiry,neglected, confined and repeatedly beat the little girl, court was told during the trial.

Court was told she was shot with a BB gun and forced to eat her own vomit before dying from her extensive injuries on a cold basement floor.

"It is important for us all to remember today, and throughout the course of these proceedings, that what prompted this inquiry into the tragic death of a five-year-old child was the child herself," said commission counsel Sherri Walsh on Tuesday.

Although First Nations culture considers children to be sacred, Phoenix wasn't treated that way, Walsh said.

"In this case, the public has not had an opportunity to know how it is that a small child can become invisible to the scrutiny and concern which our society recognizes she was owed."

Gordon McKinnon, lawyer for the province, said some 40 employees in Winnipeg's Child and Family Services had contact with Phoenix and her family during the five short years of her life.

"Either by telephone or by attendance or by being involved in the apprehension or the court proceedings, they all had some degree of contact," McKinnon said. "There was a myriad of employees of Winnipeg Child and Family Services who had contact with Phoenix Sinclair or her family during her lifetime."

In 2003, WinnipegCFS ceased to exist as an agency and became a branch of the provincial department.

'The voice of Phoenix Sinclair'

George Derwin, lawyer for the girl's foster mother, Kim Edwards, and her biological father, Steve Sinclair, said they want to know how she could have fallen through the cracks.

Edwards acted more like Phoenix's real mother, Derwin told the inquiry. She worked frantically to try to get her back from Kematch and arranged her funeral afterwards.

"She has been the voice of Phoenix Sinclair, tirelessly lobbying to make sure this very inquiry takes place," he said. "She has many unanswered questions."

But Derwin said Edwards doesn't want the inquiry to simply rehash Phoenix's short life.

"I keep hearing 'tragic death.' That is not what Kim Edwards says," he said. "We're here for a spirit of renewal. We're here to celebrate her life and ensure that something positive comes of it."