Justice Ted Hughes has ruled that media outlets will be able to publish the names and faces of all witnesses called to testify in the Phoenix Sinclair Inquiry.
“Obviously, my client is disappointed,” said Garth Smorang, the MGEU lawyer who recently argued for a publication ban on the identity of front line child welfare workers.
“These are people who’ve been called to testify about an emotionally explosive case, while at the same time, they’re still working with struggling Manitoba families every day. The Inquiry’s purpose is to gather information that might help us understand how this terrible tragedy happened in order to improve the system, while not jeopardizing those families and workers currently involved in the system as it is right now.”
In his decision, the Commissioner found no “serious” risk to individuals or to the system generally, despite evidence gathered from social workers and a number of Canadian experts in the field.
“The MGEU sincerely hopes the Commissioner is correct in his measure of the risk,” Smorang said. At this point, he added, his clients are eager to move forward.
“The social workers have told me that they choose child welfare as a career because they want to help families and make a difference in children’s lives,” Smorang said. “It’s a nightmare for these workers to lose a child like Phoenix, especially under such horrific circumstances, and for those called to testify in the Inquiry, it’s been a long and difficult road.”
As the Inquiry proceeds this fall, the MGEU will work to ensure the employer does what it can to minimize stress on individual workers and keep the system as functional as possible during this trying process for all involved.
Publication Ban Ruling (pdf)