The mother of a 17-year-old girl who was slain in Carman along with four others in February is set to sue Child and Family Services over alleged failures to protect her daughter.
Juliette Hastings claims CFS did not carry out proper checks or heed warnings that her daughter, Myah-Lee Gratton, wasn’t safe living under the same roof as the man now accused of killing her.
“They failed her,” Hastings told the Free Press Tuesday. “(I want) accountability for my daughter’s life.”
Ruth Bonneville / Free Press
Juliette Hastings, whose daughter Myah-Lee Gratton was slain in Carman along with four others in February, is set to sue Child and Family Services over alleged failures to protect her daughter.
Victor Bargen, one of the lawyers representing Hastings, said a statement of claim will be filed soon in Manitoba’s Court of King’s Bench.
“Just because a child is aging out (of the child-welfare system) doesn’t vitiate your responsibility under the (Child and Family Services) act,” he said.
Myah-Lee, her 30-year-old cousin Amanda Clearwater and Clearwater’s three children — six-year-old Bethany, four-year-old Jayven and two-month-old Isabella — were found dead in three locations in the Carman and Elie areas Feb. 11.
RCMP found Myah-Lee in the Clearwater family’s Carman home, after Clearwater’s body was discovered in a ditch south of the town and those of the children near a burning vehicle north of Elie.
Ryan Manoakeesick — the common-law partner of Clearwater and the father of her children — is charged with five counts of first-degree murder. The 29-year-old was arrested at the Elie-area scene, said police.
Hastings is trying to learn more about CFS’ contact with Myah-Lee leading up to the homicide. She said her months-long quest for answers has been stymied since an initial meeting with CFS officials.
She said she was told she would receive information pertaining only to her daughter, following an internal review of all CFS contact prior to the homicides.
She does not know when she will get it.
“I’ve been waiting patiently, humbly, and nothing,” said Hastings. “It hurts, but I have to carry that pain every single day, because I need to function and provide (for my other children).
“It’s hard doing that when you have a cloud behind you — constantly following you — because it’s not been resolved.”
Reviews can lead to recommendations for change.
Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine, who ordered the review under Section 4 of the CFS Act, described the homicides as “one of the darkest days” in Manitoba history.
“Section 4 reviews and who can have access to them are strictly governed by legislation, and these details cannot be shared,” Fontaine said in a statement. “Other processes exist to share information more publicly.”
She said a copy of the review was sent to Manitoba’s children and youth advocate, who “has the legal and legislative responsibility to complete any followups they deem appropriate after the conclusion of criminal proceedings.”
A “review process” launched by advocate Sherry Gott’s office in February is ongoing, a spokeswoman said.
Days after the killings, Premier Wab Kinew signalled he is open to an inquiry, which would have to wait until criminal proceedings are resolved.
Hastings said she feels let down by Fontaine and the government.
“She is a mother to all these children that have fallen through the gaps,” said Hastings, referring to the families minister.
Hastings said Myah-Lee, who had prior contact with the child-welfare system, went to live with Clearwater and Manoakeesick in April 2023, after the mother and her daughter had an argument.
Hastings said Myah-Lee didn’t like boundaries that were set to keep her safe, and believed she would be free to do what she wanted if she moved out of Hastings’ Winnipeg home.
The mother said she warned CFS about Manoakeesick — who had a criminal record and addictions and mental-health issues that were documented in a previous court case — but was told not to have any contact with Myah-Lee.
Before she was killed, Myah-Lee sent text messages and voice notes to family and friends, telling them she feared for her safety and wanted to “get out” of the house in Carman, about 75 kilometres southwest of Winnipeg.
The high school student claimed she had dishes thrown at her and was angrily confronted by Manoakeesick.
Myah-Lee told a friend via text message Dec. 9 that she left a voicemail for her case worker in which she pleaded to be moved out of the house, after she “hurt Ryan bad” and ran away.
One of her voice notes claimed Manoakeesick assaulted and threatened to kill Clearwater.
After the homicides, Hastings and her lawyers were told that a case worker said she visited the house to do a check, said Bargen.
“That’s all that we know,” he said. “There are all of these terms now, that are not that flattering, but it’s a drive-by visit. ‘OK, nothing here’ — close the door, off we go, write down in your notes, ‘I was there.’
“When you get that kind of a call, you don’t just tick the box. Their job is to assess safety and they didn’t do that.”
Lawyer Louis Godry, who also represents Hastings, said there were plenty of red flags for CFS.
“This is so much about accountability, because if somebody’s feet aren’t held to the fire, then you almost enable,” he said. “Maybe that’s too strong of a word, but you set up a situation where this could happen again. It could have been avoided.”
Hastings wants something positive to come out of the tragedy. She is hoping for changes within CFS that help to protect other children. She also wants to establish a scholarship for youth who play basketball, a sport her daughter loved.
“I just want Myah to be remembered, and never forgotten,” said Hastings. “She was amazing and kind. Everybody loved her.”
chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca
Chris Kitching
Reporter
Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris.
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