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No charges against cops, paramedics in B.C. child welfare case

Dec 6, 2016 | 2:34 PM

VICTORIA — No charges will be approved for police officers and paramedics in Delta, B.C., who didn’t file a report with the Children’s Ministry about a girl whose death prompted change for children in care.

British Columbia’s criminal justice branch said Tuesday there is no substantial likelihood that the officers or paramedics would be convicted for not reporting the incident involving 17-year-old Paige Gauchier in January 2011.

The branch said Gauchier was intoxicated and had a bleeding nose when she walked into a gas station in Delta at 2 a.m. and said she’d been assaulted by six girls. She refused to go to hospital on the recommendation of paramedics.

The branch said police called an uncle she was living with in Vancouver and he asked that she be sent home by taxi, but the officers and paramedics did not contact the ministry.

Two years later, Gauchier was found dead from a drug overdose in a public washroom in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, who was the province’s children’s representative, said in a report that multiple agencies involved with the teen throughout her life had failed to collaborate to help her.

Her report in May 2015 said police, paramedics, health-care workers, school staff and other officials had contact with the teenager and many of those contacts should have been reported to the Children’s Ministry.

Gauchier was of indigenous ancestry and Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, requested that police investigate, the branch said.

The RCMP submitted a report to the Crown recommending that the main police investigator and two paramedics who had dealings with Gauchier be charged with failing to report a child in need of protection.

But the branch said there was no information suggesting the teen was being abused or neglected by a parent or guardian.

“They indicated to the RCMP members investigating the alleged failure to report did not consider the incident reportable as there were no indications of a problem in Ms. Gauchier’s home,” it said.

“One of the first responders noted that he saw no reason to report the matter of a 17-year-old who had been drinking alcohol, as that was something he came across on a regular basis, ‘probably 10 times a day.’ “

Turpel-Lafond’s report made several recommendations including enhanced transition planning for aboriginal youth who are moving out of government care because of their age, and better services for vulnerable aboriginal children, especially in the Downtown Eastside.

Since the report was released, the B.C. government has expanded supports for youth aging out of care with life-skills programs, financial planning, healthy living and employment programs. The changes also increased the length of time a young person can receive benefits from two to four years, covering expenses like child care, tuition and health care.

The Canadian Press