PCs and NDP question delays as Liberals promise progress on inquiry into Innu children in care

After an long-awaited inquiry into ground search and rescue was formally established earlier this month, Liberal Leader Andrew Furey says anotherinquiry, one lookinginto Innu children in care, won't start until the search and rescue inquiry is finished.

The provincial government established the search and rescue inquiry in a wave of announcements on Jan. 14, the day before the election was called.

The inquiry into search and rescue was promised in 2015, after 14-year-old Burton Winters perished when his snowmobile became stuck on the sea ice outside Makkovik three years prior.

Burton's family has repeatedly asked for the inquiry to begin and explain why it took twodays for a military aircraft to be dispatched to aid ground search and rescue. However, the search and rescue inquiry will focus on policy, not investigation. It will hold one hearing into the search for Burton Winters.

It's not clear when inquiry commissioner and former provincial court justice James Igloliorte will begin formally gathering facts and holding hearings, but proceedings are expected to wrap up sometime in June.

ButFurey says thelong-awaited inquiryinto Innu children in care in Newfoundland and Labradorwon't happen at the same time.

"They're not going to happen simultaneously, but we have had really good progress with the Innu Nation and it looks like we've secured a council and a framework to move forward," Furey said Thursday.

The province said more than three years ago it would launch an inquiry into Innu children in the child-care system, but there's been little to no movementsince.

The suicide of Innu teen Wally Rich, while he was in the care of a group home in the child protection system in May 2020, renewed calls for that inquiry to begin lastyear. A shortage of Supreme Court judges hindered the search for a commissioner for the inquiry, and the Innu Nation previously agreedagreed to allow a commissioner from out of the province to head the inquiry.

PCs, NDP call for inquiry to start

PC Leader Ches Crosbie said Saturday he doesn't know why the inquiry into Innu children in care has taken so long.

"This has been bouncing around for something like three years, I think. The point about that is that it should have been done and over with by now," he said.

"I don't understand why the government is dragging its feet."

Alison Coffin, leader of the New Democratic party, echoed Crosbie's comments.

"I think that we need to start that inquiry sooner rather than later. I don't understand why they would think that they can't be concurrent," she said.

"Those are two separate and distinct things and I think they both deserve to be addressed. [It's] something that we said we were going to do for a really long time;I'm not sure why he's put it off."

The Innu Nation says it will have more to say about the inquiry and other issues next week.

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