Manitoba foster parents express anxiety over alleged hindrance by the Families Minister in their activities
In Manitoba, the Manitoba Foster Parent Association (MFPA) has raised concerns about a perceived communication breakdown with Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine. The association alleges that their emails have been either blocked or ignored, particularly after a board member's email about a memorial for a child in the Child Welfare System received no response.
According to MFPA president Jamie Pfau, multiple attempts using different email accounts, including personal, association, and business addresses, have not resulted in consistent responses from the minister or her office. This has led to suspicions of intentional blocking or ignoring of their communications.
The MFPA underscores the importance of maintaining open lines of communication with the minister, given Manitoba's high per capita rate of children in care. At any given time, around 10,000 children are in the care system in Manitoba, making effective communication crucial.
The provincial government, however, denies these allegations. They attribute the lack of response to a technical issue that prevented auto-reply emails from being sent if the sender had previously emailed the minister’s office, not to intentional blocking.
Jodie Byram, the Opposition critic for families and accessibility, stated that this type of behaviour is not unusual for Fontaine. However, the government maintains that the communication gap is due to this technical glitch rather than deliberate ignoring or blocking of emails.
As of early August 2025, the MFPA is demanding answers from the government and seeking clarification on why their communications have not been acknowledged. The province stands by its explanation concerning technical problems affecting email responses.
It is worth noting that the ministry did not cut off communication with the organization representing caregivers of the 10,000 kids in the system. In a separate incident, Fontaine's office was reported to have blocked every member of APTN News' team on social media after a hot mic moment. However, Fontaine's office later directed staff to reverse the decision to block APTN News.
The Manitoba government is looking to Indigenous leadership and decolonization for child welfare issues, aiming to address the high number of children in care in a meaningful and culturally sensitive manner. The ongoing communication issue between the MFPA and the minister's office remains a point of contention in this endeavour.
- The ongoing dispute between the Manitoba Foster Parent Association (MFPA) and Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine over policy-and-legislation and communication issues is a significant part of the general-news in Manitoba, given the high number of children in care and the importance of open dialogue.
- The MFPA's ongoing concerns about perceived communication breakdown with Minister Fontaine, including allegations of email blocking or ignoring, have sparked discussions about politics and governance, particularly in relation to child welfare issues and Indigenous leadership in Manitoba.
