September 17, 2013 - 10:05 AM
VICTORIA - British Columbia's children and youth representative will shed light this morning on an interprovincial transfer that preceded the starvation and death of an aboriginal girl.
The girl, who can't be named, was just 26 pounds when she was removed from her grandparents' home in the Fort Qu'Appelle area, east of Regina in 2008.
She was born in British Columbia, but her grandparents won custody from her drug-addicted mother in 2007 and took her to Saskatchewan.
During her grandparents' trial, the court heard the girl was kept on a cement floor in a windowless room, and the couple argued she starved because they didn't receive enough government aid.
The grandparents were found guilty in February 2012 of failing to provide the necessities of life and were sentenced to three years in prison.
Children and youth representative Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond will examine the details of the move and make suggestions on how to better protect children in similar situations in the future.
News from © The Canadian Press , 2013