Samantha Martin was a Canadian girl who died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

in December 2006 at age 13. Following her death, her parents – particularly her mother Velvet Martin – fought legal restrictions on publicizing information about children in Alberta's child welfare system, alleged that Samantha's death was caused by neglect while in

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

, and lobbied for changes to an Alberta law that required disabled children to enter foster care in order to receive medical treatment.

History

Samantha Martin was born in 1993 in

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. She was diagnosed with

tetrasomy 18p Tetrasomy 18p is a genetic condition that is caused by the presence of an isochromosome composed of two copies of the short arm of chromosome 18 in addition to the two normal copies of the chromosome. It is characterized by multiple medical and d ...

, a genetic condition which causes a wide range of medical and developmental problems. Social workers advised the family that Samantha would receive better medical support for her condition if she were placed in foster care; her mother, Velvet Martin, claimed that the state forced her to do so in order to obtain funding and services for Samantha. Samantha was placed with a foster family, with whom she lived for more than ten years. Martin died of a

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...

in December 2006 at age 13, five months after returning to the care of her biological family. Under Alberta law, it is illegal to publish the name or photograph of children in the provincial welfare system, even those that have died. In order to draw attention to the circumstances leading to Martin's death, the family first sought to have the

publication ban A publication ban is a court order which prohibits the public or media from disseminating certain details of an otherwise public judicial proceeding. In Canada, publication bans are most commonly issued when the safety or reputation of a victim ...

lifted in her case. Velvet Martin lobbied for changes to Alberta law. In 2008, an amendment to the Alberta Family Support for Children with Disabilities Act was passed that, according to the '' St. Albert Gazette'', "requires that participants in the Family Support for Children with Disabilities Program are recognized as legally distinct from children in protective services under the intervention model". During a 2011 inquiry, biological family members alleged that neglect under foster care, including abuse, malnutrition, and untreated seizures, had contributed to Samantha's death. The claims were denied by the foster family. In 2012,

Provincial Court The court system of Canada is made up of many courts differing in levels of legal superiority and separated by jurisdiction. In the courts, the judiciary interpret and apply the law of Canada. Some of the courts are Government of Canada, feder ...

Judge Marilena Carminati ruled that although Martin's death was attributable to natural causes, the Alberta foster care system had failed Martin, who was malnourished and had gone for extended periods without seeing a doctor. The ruling recommended several for changes to the provincial child welfare policies to prevent similar future deaths. For her advocacy work, Velvet Martin was awarded the Edmonton Mayor's Award and a human rights award from the

John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights The John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights is a human rights education organization headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta. It is one of the few human rights education organizations in Canada. It was founded in 1998 in honour of John Humphre ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Samantha 2006 deaths Child abuse resulting in death Child welfare in Canada Activism in Canada