The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs released a report on Tuesday critical of the child-welfare system in the province, calling it an extension of "genocide."

The document was partly a response to a public inquiry report into the death of Phoenix Sinclair. Her 2005 murder went undetected by child welfare officials for months.

AMC Grand Chief Derek Nepinak said the report into her death doesn't go far enough.

"Genocide ... has grown legs from the residential school experience and it is now evident in the child-welfare system, where our children are being denied access to their families, being denied access to their language and their culture," said Nepinak.

He said findings of AMC’s report also show:

  • Some kids contemplate suicide because they don't feel loved
  • Some kids go to the streets to try and find help
  • Some kids abused in foster homes

There are multiple recommendations coming out of the report.

Nepinak said this just touches the surface.

One recommendation in AMC's report suggests having legislation to allow extended family in home communities to take responsibility for children who need care.

The report is based on open forums in Winnipeg and Thompson which gathered testimonies from more than 90 parents, grandparents, workers and people who grew up in CFS care.

One main message conveyed was that placing children in urban centres, far away from their homes, left many feeling isolated and exposes them to new threats.

“They're giving up on social workers and they're going to the streets to find people that care for them. And when they go to the streets, tragedy can ensue,” said Nepinak.

The funeral for 15-year-old Tina Fontaine was held in her home community of Sagkeeng, but the teenager had spent her final weeks more than 100 kilometres away, moving to Winnipeg under the care of Child and Family Services, before running away. Her body was found in August in the Red River.

Many people feel cases like this highlight the need for change in Manitoba's child-welfare system.

It's a tragedy what's happening. It's disgusting. I'm disgusted. And the one that broke for me was Tina (Fontaine)," said Charlene Gladu, a social worker.

“It takes a community to raise a child. We're not being allowed to do that,” said Bill Traverse, regional chief with the Assembly of First Nations.

Family Services Minister Kerri Irvin-Ross said Tuesday she had not read Nepinak's report, but called the number of aboriginal kids in care "alarming." The number of children in the system has nearly doubled in the last decade to about 10,000. More than 70 per cent are aboriginal.

"The responsibility is to ensure that Manitoba's children are safe, and that's our No. 1 priority," she said.

- with a report from Alesia Fieldberg and files from The Canadian Press