An inquest has been launched into two suicides at the Manitoba Youth Centre over a span of just five months.
In December of 2010, a 17-year-old girl was found hanging in her room. She was rushed to hospital but later died. Last July a 15-year-old girl also hanged herself in her room. Both had a history of suicide attempts.
The province's chief medical examiner says changes were made at the youth centre following the first suicide such as sharp edges on door hinges being filed down.
Additional staff has also been added on each shift in the centre's female units and all sheets and pillow cases have been removed.
But the inquest will determine if more could have been done.
"Were there warning signs that were there?" says Dr. Thambirajah Balachandra. "If so…were the cases handled properly and was enough done to try and prevent the deaths?"
Balachandra says this is the first time anyone has died at the Manitoba Youth Centre. But the deaths come as no surprise to Catlin Belanger, who spent most of his teenage years in and out of the centre.
"Through all the years I went there I'd say there must have been at least probably 10 people that tried (to commit suicide)," says Catlin Belanger. "I've actually never seen anybody try it or seen anybody die there."
He believes more needs to be done to fix the problem. Both girls were on suicide watch when they died.
"When you've got a kid saying ‘I'm going to kill myself' you definitely have to watch out for that right away."
No date has been set for the inquest. A judge will review the findings and make recommendations to prevent further deaths at the facility.
-With a report from CTV's Caroline Barghout
