Group home operator failed to monitor troubled teen who killed herself, lawsuit alleges – Thestar.com

Sept. 30, 2018

The family of Kanina Sue Turtle, who killed herself while in group foster home care, is suing Tikinagan Child & Family Services, alleging staff were negligent and “failed to adequately monitor” the 15-year-old from Poplar Hill First Nation.

The lawsuit comes on the heels of a scathing report from a coroner’s expert panel that examined the deaths of 12 children and youth, including Kanina, while in the care of Ontario Children’s Aid Societies between 2014 and 2017.

Kanina died Oct. 29, 2016 in a Sioux Lookout home, operated by Tikinagan. In the final year of her life, Kanina was moved on several occasions, the panel found, following incidents of self-harm, suicidal thoughts and attempts to kill herself. She had to be medically evacuated twice from a healing centre, including five days before she died.

Kanina’s mother and father, Barbara and Clarence Suggashie, and five siblings are named as plaintiffs, and are seeking a total of $5.9 million in damages from Tikinagan, which serves northwestern Ontario First Nations communities.

Read More: https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/09/30/group-home-operator-failed-to-monitor-troubled-teen-who-killed-herself-lawsuit-alleges.html