Sinclair inquiry launched in Manitoba

A long-awaited inquiry into the death of Phoenix Sinclair is set to begin following the appointment ofTed Hughes to oversee the process.

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

Herbody 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 in Sinclair's death.

"This tragic death touched all of us," Andrew Swan, Manitoba's attourney general, said in a news release issued Friday. "Manitobans have a right to know how a child can go missing for nine months and without anyone noticing."

According to the province, the inquiry follows investigations by RCMP and the chief medical examiner, as well as two external reviews of the child and family services system.

Ted Hughes has an extensive background as a lawyer and judge in Saskatchewan, and has overseen a number of inquiries in several provinces including one into the 1996 riot at Headingley Correctional Institution.

Swan said Friday the inquiry "is to examine the circumstances surrounding the death of Phoenix Sinclair" with particular emphasis on the child welfare services "provided or not provided" to the child and her family.

Hughes is also being asked to determine "why the death remained undiscovered for several months."

The deadline for his report is March 30, 2012.

It is expected that several months of preparation will be needed before public hearings can start.