Province cuts ties with Winnipeg foster home operator after teens given marijuana daily

The Manitoba government is cutting ties with a private foster home operator and has asked police to investigate after learning the home was giving underage teens unauthorized cannabis as a form of harm reduction.

Spirit Rising House, a Winnipeg-based for-profit company, runs nine foster homes and two specialized group homes for 34 high-risk youth in Child and Family Services care.

"We are talking about some of the most vulnerable, at-risk youth with incredibly complex needs," Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine told CBC News. "So to learn that cannabis was being distributed was quite concerning."

Former and current employees told CBC underage youth were provided cannabis by staff, which was widely known throughout the company. 

"Harm reduction is great when it's being used for harm reduction, but what we were doing is providing weed every day at 3:30," said a former employee who used to work at one of the homes and gave the youth cannabis.

Staff were told by upper management it was better to have workers at the home provide cannabis than risk residents going elsewhere and doing harder drugs, such as methamphetamine and opioids. 

"It's easier to just keep [them] placated and happy than to have to deal with the paperwork, police and hospitals," the former employee said.

Another former worker said the teens, some as young as 15, were given a choice between getting one gram of cannabis a day or getting a weekly cash allowance.

Every youth picked the cannabis, she said. 

She said an underage teen who had never smoked marijuana in her life started smoking it daily after she moved into a Spirit Rising House home.

"It was very concerning to me when I would show up and she's walking around … with a bong in her hand and just out of it all the time," said the former worker.

"And it's all she does now."

The two former employees are among four people — past and current employees — who spoke to CBC News about concerns with the operations of Spirit Rising House. CBC is not identifying the individuals because they fear speaking out will harm their future job prospects. 

They are speaking out because they say what they've seen happening at the homes isn't right and believe the children deserve better care.