Sinclair inquiry faces further delay

An inquiry into the murder of a five-year-old Manitoba girl has barely begun, but lawyers are already warning it won't meet a deadline set by the provincial government.

Commission counsel Sherri Walsh said the hearing into how Phoenix Sinclair died isn't likely to start calling witnesses until November.

She said there are piles of child welfare documents to go through. All are protected by confidentiality law and court permission is needed before they can be made public.

Walsh said it's not unusual for inquiries of this kind to require more time.

Phoenix Victoria Hope Sinclair was killed on the Fisher River First Nation in June 2005 but her body was not located until March 2006. She had been wrapped in plastic and buried in a shallow, unmarked grave near the garbage dump on the reserve, located about 220 kilometres north of Winnipeg.

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

During the trial, court heard how the couple neglected, confined and repeatedly beat the little girl, whowas was shot with a BB gun and forced to eat her own vomit.

During her short life, Phoenix was taken into care twice but was returned to her mother both times.

The inquiry,previouslydelayed by appeals filed by Kematch and McKay, will examine how the provincial child welfare failed to protect Phoenix and why her death went undiscovered for months.

A hearing todeterminewho would be grantedstanding at the inquiry was held in Winnipeg on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Some 17 parties had sought standing and nine have been approved.