After outcry over baby's apprehension, Manitoba Indigenous family gets their newborn back
CBC
An Indigenous family is planning to pursue legal action after they say a newborn baby was apprehended by Child and Family Services without warning.
A taxi was on its way to bring the mother and baby home on Monday, when a child-welfare worker unexpectedly showed up at the Winnipeg hospital, the mother's older sister said in an interview.
"It was a wrongful, illegal apprehension that happened when the baby had multiple homes she could go to, within the family," she said.
The family posted video of their exchange with the child-welfare worker online, which made the rounds on social media and attracted the attention of politicians who brought up the family's plight in the Manitoba Legislature on Thursday.
That same afternoon, Child and Family Services met with the family and apologized for the apprehension, blaming it on miscommunication, the sister said.
The newborn was returned to their mother on Thursday night.
"She's happy that the baby's home, but she's also still frustrated with how this all went about. This could have simply been avoided by proper communication," her sister said.
No members of the family can be identified under Manitoba law.
WATCH | Family tries to reason with child-welfare worker to prevent apprehension:
The sister says the explanation given for taking away the newborn doesn't make sense. It said the mother, who is 17 and a ward of CFS, wasn't making efforts to enter parenting programs and that the family didn't have a plan to care for the baby, which the family disputes.
She said the worker apologized on Thursday for the miscommunication and said it shouldn't have happened.
The provincial government didn't immediately respond to a request for comment, but a spokesperson has previously said the province cannot comment on specific comments due to privacy concerns.
NDP families critic Nahanni Fontaine said the family which dealt with the apprehension followed all the appropriate steps, and yet the child-welfare system still took their baby away. She brought up the family's matter during question period Thursday.
Fontaine told reporters afterwards that the older sister made arrangements for the mother and newborn to live with her. The sister also moved to a bigger place to ensure they had enough space.
Joseph Jacildo helped assemble vehicles inside a Brampton, Ont., plant for 28 years.
Ontario’s workplace safety board is defending an advertising campaign that critics say is designed to improve its reputation, with some saying the funds should be spent helping injured workers.
The University of Guelph says it’s investigating after a recent pub night saw students using racist, antisemitic, anti-Black and homophobic language as well as “the appearance of hate symbols.”
The owner of the MV Ancier has been fined for a fuel spill that happened in Charlottetown Harbour two years ago, CBC News has learned.
Joy SpearChief-Morris is the recipient of the 2025 CJF-CBC Indigenous Journalism Fellowship, established to encourage Indigenous voices and better understanding of Indigenous issues in Canada's major media and community outlets.
Prime Minister Mark Carney is huddling with his cabinet in Quebec City to chart out the government's plan for the new year after using a closely watched moment on the world stage earlier this week to condemn the U.S. administration and signal a pivot for Canada.
In a whiplash-inducing U-turn, U.S. President Donald Trump suddenly dropped his insistence on taking control of Greenland, mere hours after laying out at great length his rationale for ownership of the Arctic island.
The Crown reached a milestone at provincial court in St. John’s on Wednesday afternoon, as prosecutor Deidre Badcock wrapped up her case in a trial that began last summer.
The Nova Scotia government could pay Shannex more than $2 billion over the life of the contract to operate a transitional care facility in West Bedford, a figure senior health officials say might seem large but will actually amount to an overall savings for the system.
The responsibility and budget for New Brunswick seniors and long-term care will now fall under a dedicated seniors minister, the province announced Wednesday.
A flock of angry bird-lovers influenced a decision before Winnipeg city council that could've done away with bylaw protections designed to reduce bird deaths — were it not for all the chirping from the public.
The Saskatchewan Health Authority listed a project on SaskTenders, the provincial procurement website, earlier this month, inviting bids to create a service to anonymously report when “employees and others are suspected of violating SHA policies, codes of conduct or conflict of interest rules.”
A Saskatchewan couple faces immigration-related provincial charges connected with their employment of foreign workers at restaurants in Humboldt and North Battleford.