Updated: Mon Feb. 23 2009 2:57:40 PM
The Canadian Press
TORONTO — It's unacceptable that 90 children known to Ontario child protection services died in 2007 -- and most of those deaths could have been prevented, the province's child and youth advocate said Monday.
The deaths may represent less than a quarter of all children and youths who died in Ontario during the year, but the number is "still too high by any standard," Irwin Elman wrote in his annual report.
"They were, because of the state's obligation to their well-being, `our children,"' he added.
The most recent statistics from Ontario's coroner show that 16 of the deaths were accidental, nine were suicides, four were homicides and eight were from natural causes, the report said.
Nearly half of the cases where the manner of death was known involved children under a year old, while 32 per cent were kids between the ages of 12 and 18, Elman wrote.
However, 22 cases were considered undetermined, 17 are still to be classified and 14 were not considered appropriate for investigation by the coroner.
"It is -- to say the least -- troubling," said Premier Dalton McGuinty.
"If we lose just one child in care, that's an issue that is a cause for concern for all of us."
In many cases, it's "almost impossible" to obtain information that would allow his office to investigate complaints of wrongdoing, Elman noted.
For instance, the Children's Aid Society has refused to share its child death reports, even though they are submitted to the coroner and the Ontario government, Elman noted.
Last fall, his office took the government to court to obtain the reports and photographs it needed to investigate a complaint of abuse from a youth in detention -- a case that was later dropped after the information was produced.
Elman said his powers are not broad enough to ensure the information is provided, and requests to change the legislation have been rebuffed.
"Good information would help us discover where there are snags so we can advocate for change," he wrote.
Children and Youth Services Minister Deb Matthews said the province now has a "protocol" that promises to share information with Elman's office within 10 days.
Elman's job is "important," she said, but wouldn't back his request for extended powers.
"We think that if we can facilitate the information, he can do his job," Matthews said.
Kids who are in the care of the Children's Aid Society often come from "troubled families" and engage in "high-risk activities," she said.
But that doesn't mean it should be easier to accept the number of children dying each year, she added.
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