Phoenix Victoria Hope Sinclair (23 April 2000 – 11 June 2005) was a Canadian five-year-old girl who was murdered by her mother and stepfather. The circumstances of her life and death resulted in the Inquiry into the Circumstances Surrounding the Death of Phoenix Sinclair, one of the largest

public inquiries In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

ever held in

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, examining the

child welfare Child protection is the safeguarding of children from violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect. Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child provides for the protection of children in and out of the home. One of the ways to e ...

system.

Biography

Phoenix Sinclair was born on 23 April 2000 in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, Manitoba, Canada, to Samantha Kematch and Steve Sinclair. Her father chose her name. Both of her parents had previous involvement with

authorities, and Kematch had a previous child who was a permanent

ward of the state In law, a ward is a minor or incapacitated adult placed under the protection of a legal guardian or government entity, such as a court. Such a person may be referenced as a "ward of the court". Overview The wardship jurisdiction is an ancient j ...

. Phoenix was immediately placed in the custody of the Child and Family Services (CFS) agency, as her parents were assessed as being unprepared to care for a baby. She was first housed in a temporary shelter and later with

foster parent Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home (residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state- certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family me ...

s, where her parents were allowed visitation rights. Phoenix was returned to her parents in September, with conditions including that they receive training on how to care for children and supervision from social services; however, according to the inquiry on Phoenix's case, the training and assessment provided by CFS was inadequate. Phoenix's sister, Echo, was born 29 April 2001, at which point another CFS assessment was made but no change in custody was ordered. Police responded to a

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

call at the family home in June 2001; the couple had reportedly separated by early July 2001, with Steve Sinclair caring for both girls. Echo died of a

respiratory infection Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) are infectious diseases involving the respiratory tract. An infection of this type usually is further classified as an upper respiratory tract infection (URI or URTI) or a lower respiratory tract infection (LRI ...

on 15 July. As of summer 2001, Phoenix's case had been referred to CFS on several occasions. The agency considered Steve Sinclair to be the "primary caregiver" of record for Phoenix. However, during this period she spent most of her time at the home of Kim Edwards, a family friend. The agency's file on Phoenix was closed in early 2002, but another was opened when Phoenix was hospitalized in February 2003, as medical personnel expressed concerns regarding possible neglect. At the time of her hospitalization, she had had a

foreign body A foreign body (FB) is any object originating outside the body of an organism. In machinery, it can mean any unwanted intruding object. Most references to foreign bodies involve propulsion through natural orifices into hollow organs. Foreign bo ...

(a piece of

Styrofoam Styrofoam is a trademarked brand of closed-cell extruded polystyrene foam (XPS), commonly called "Blue Board", manufactured as foam continuous building insulation board used in walls, roofs, and foundations as thermal insulation and water barrie ...

) lodged in her nose for nearly four months, and staff did not know whether her father would provide her with the necessary

antibiotics An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the treatment and prevention o ...

to deal with the resulting infection. She was taken into custody by CFS in June 2003 and placed in the temporary guardianship of Kim Edwards in early July. In April 2004, Samantha Kematch took Phoenix from Edwards for what was to be a temporary visit. Around this time, Kematch became involved with Karl "Wes" McKay, and Phoenix began living full-time with the couple; Steve Sinclair left the province to live in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. Phoenix was registered at Wellington School for

nursery school A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary school ...

in fall 2004, but school personnel reported never encountering either her or Kematch. New CFS files were opened for the family in November 2004, when the couple had another baby, and in March 2005 after reports of abuse; both were quickly closed. McKay and Kematch moved to

Fisher River Cree Nation Fisher River ( cr, ᐅᒉᑯ ᓰᐱᐩ, ocêko-sîpiy) is a Cree First Nations reserve located approximately 193 km north of Manitoba's capital city, Winnipeg. The Fisher River Cree Nation is composed of two reserves; Fisher River 44 and F ...

in April 2005, taking with them Phoenix, their other child, and a twelve-year-old son of McKay's from a previous relationship; a second son (aged 14) also lived with them occasionally. Another CFS file was opened in May 2005 after someone claiming to be a relative called the agency with concerns of possible

neglect In the context of caregiving, neglect is a form of abuse where the perpetrator, who is responsible for caring for someone who is unable to care for themselves, fails to do so. It can be a result of carelessness, indifference, or unwillingness and ...

. On 11 June 2005, Phoenix Sinclair died. In the period leading up to her death, she had been physically and verbally abused by both McKay and Kematch. She was made to sleep in a cold basement, was given very little food, and was forced to eat her own

vomit Vomiting (also known as emesis and throwing up) is the involuntary, forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose. Vomiting can be the result of ailments like food poisoning, gastroenteriti ...

. McKay shot her with a

BB gun A BB gun is a type of air gun designed to shoot metallic spherical projectiles called BBs (not to be confused with similar-looking bearing balls), which are approximately the same size as BB-size lead birdshot used on shotguns ( in diameter ...

and frequently played a "game" called "choking the chicken" in which he would strangle Phoenix until she lost consciousness. According to his testimony, on the day Phoenix died McKay's 12-year-old son saw his father beat her continuously for over 15 minutes as her mother looked on; when the pair left the house, the boy found that Phoenix was not breathing.

Aftermath

McKay's sons were returned to their mother in Winnipeg by CFS in July 2005. McKay and Kematch also returned to the city with their baby in late 2005, and had a second child together in December; they continued to claim

welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

funds for Phoenix, and told acquaintances that the girl was living with her father or another relative. In early March 2006, McKay's sons and their mother reported Phoenix's death to police. McKay and Kematch were arrested after trying to pass off another girl as Phoenix. Phoenix's body was found at the landfill at Fisher River on 18 March. The couple were convicted of

first-degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...

in late 2008 and sentenced to life imprisonment. The convictions were later confirmed on appeal. Phoenix was buried in Brookside Cemetery in Winnipeg in April 2009. An official inquiry into the case of Phoenix Sinclair was announced in October 2006 but was delayed until the completion of legal proceedings against Kematch and McKay. The

Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union The Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union (MGEU) is a trade union in Manitoba, Canada. It has over 32,000 members, and is one of the largest unions in Manitoba. The MGEU represents workers from different fields, including the civil se ...

(MGEU), which represents the

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

ers employed by CFS, filed a challenge to the province's authority to convene an inquiry on the case in early 2012, but the challenge was dismissed, as was a later attempt to impose a publication ban on the names of the social workers involved. The inquiry officially began on 5 September 2012 but was delayed by further legal challenges; it resumed in November. Further delays arose in February and March 2013 concerning a

conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations i ...

problem for some lawyers involved and a publication ban on the name of McKay's sons and their mother (which was granted). The inquiry was finally completed in July 2013 and the final report released in January 2014. All told, the inquiry cost

Can$ The Canadian dollar (symbol: $; code: CAD; french: dollar canadien) is the currency of Canada. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, there is no standard disambiguating form, but the abbreviation Can$ is often suggested by notable style ...

10–14 million, making it one of the largest and most expensive in Manitoba history. The inquiry report, written by commissioner

Ted Hughes Edward James "Ted" Hughes (17 August 1930 – 28 October 1998) was an English poet, translator, and children's writer. Critics frequently rank him as one of the best poets of his generation and one of the twentieth century's greatest wri ...

, made "62 recommendations for improving the child welfare system and is a call out to address 'deeply rooted' issues". He also recommended changes to the provincial school

curricula In education, a curriculum (; : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view ...

and to programs for supporting those on welfare, among others. The province of Manitoba announced that it had or was planning to implement many of the suggested changes, and issued a formal apology, stating that "the child welfare system failed Phoenix Sinclair". Hughes concluded that

To truly honour Phoenix, we need to provide all of Manitoba's children with a good start in life, and offer to the most vulnerable an escape from the cycle of poverty and vulnerability... The public interest that this Inquiry has received encourages me in the belief that achievement of the better protection of all Manitoba's children, and especially the most vulnerable, will be the true legacy of Phoenix Sinclair.

Biography

Aftermath

References

Further reading