The Penalty of Ventilating

"This investigation found (Yorkton Tribal Council Child and Family Services) failed to act when Derek required protection and failed to provide services to address his complex needs."
"It was a train wreck that we could see coming."
"The lives of these boys intersected in a tragic way and we have much to learn from their experiences."
"Significant gaps and shortfalls [were found in the child welfare services]."
Bob Pringle, child advocate, Saskatchewan: Two Tragedies Holding Systems Accountable

CBC News

When a now-ten-year-old aboriginal boy -- who hasn't been named, but given the pseudonym of 'Derek' for reporting purposes -- was born, he was diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome. When he was eight, he was a suspect in a burglary where a pregnant dog was killed, along with her pups. He was well known by the RCMP for his troubling behaviour. The school he attended raised concerns with the agency responsible for his welfare, at one time pleading "for help for Derek".

Stacey Merk, mother of six-year-old Lee Bonneau testified at an inquest into her son's death that she had suffered from depression from her teen years forward. On a June day in 2013 she had been feeling depressed and overwhelmed and hadn't taken her medication. It was at that juncture that she mentioned to a social worker visiting her home that she felt suicidal. Idle words perhaps, to vent her unhappiness. "I don't know why I said what I did", she commented now.

But that sentence and the sentiments it conveyed was more than enough to alarm and alert the social worker. "...Then they took my son away from me", she said. Child protection workers had refused her request to place him with his father David. They were separated, and evidently there were concerns that there was violence during their years of marriage. For his part, David Bonneau denied there was ever any domestic violence.

And he refused to sign the document allowing child services to place his son in foster care. His former wife, Lee's mother, did sign that document, empowering the placement of her child in foster care. The foster family lived on a farm near Kahkewistahaw. It seemed that little Lee Bonneau was adjusting to his new situation. But his foster mother, Mary Ramstead, described him as a "handful".

She described a child with an inquisitive penchant for wandering, running down the road, clambering on farm machinery. And how the child would awake frequently in the middle of the night, with nightmares. "It's very devastating and I have a much deeper understanding for Mary Ramstead now. That poor woman. I just wanted her to know there's no hate in my heart," said Celia Bonneau, Lee's aunt.

For Mary Ramstead had decided to visit the Kahkewistahaw First Nation east of Regina close to her farm, for a bingo night. She took Lee Bonneau with her. At the recreation centre she gave him money to buy himself a soft drink and off he went. He was last seen playing with a few dogs, outside the hall. Hindsight must have informed his foster mother that her eye should have been on the wanderlusting inquisitive child, but when he didn't return an alarm was raised.

It seems that six-year-old Lee Bonneau crossed paths with ten-year-old 'Derek', and the outcome for the younger child was a crushing death. The little boy was discovered by a search party critically wounded. He was rushed to hospital but it was too late; he died from his injuries. Constable Mark Dijkstra, at the scene after that discovery spoke of a badly beaten child with severe facial trauma.

"I was scared for him", he said. A three-foot-long stick was found nearby, covered with blood. The scene, said Constable Dijkstra was "grim". The little boy was still alive when first found, and as people assembled around the scene, they broke into tears. He died on the way to hospital, with his foster mother at his side, in the ambulance. "I couldn't stand the pain he was in. It still haunts me," she said, testifying tearfully at the inquest.

The inquest will continue over a two-week period, scheduled to hear testimony from no fewer than 32 witnesses. The six jurors will determine the details of little Lee's death and offer recommendations to avoid future such tragedies.  'Derek', had been at the scene looking frightened and crying, beside his mother. Corporal Carol Thomson testified she arrested him for assault with a weapon. She read him his right to counsel, more for his mother's sake, she explained.

He was taken to the RCMP detachment to be interviewed. Because he is under twelve years of age, he was not charged under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. It was Corporal Thomson's impression that the boy didn't understand what he had done.