'All I felt was the role of a struggling mother': MLA Amanda Lathlin shares story of family's struggle

A mother's heartbreaking story about her daughter's struggles with suicide echoed through the chamber at the Manitoba Legislature Wednesday.

Amanda Lathlin, New Democratic MLA for The Pas, slammed the Progressive Conservative government for the gaps in the throne speech and the cabinet ministers' mandate letters where Indigenous issues were either not mentioned at all or linked with other portfolios which she said had little in common.

She listed, what she called, failures of the Pallister government to acknowledge and commit to issues including northern roads, missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, treaties, and housing in the north. She also pointed to the government lumping together Indigenous relations with municipal relations in one portfolio.

All I felt was the role of a struggling mother — took the blame- Amanda Lathlin, New Democratic MLA for The Pas

Lathlin was most impassioned when she told MLAs about her own life struggles to illustrate the hard realities she, and other Aboriginal Manitobans, face.

"My daughter twice has been flown out from The Pas to Winnipeg on suicide watch," she said, her voice at times trembling with emotion.

"So those two couple of days I sat with her at the psych health ward here at the Health Sciences Centre, addressing her concerns and all I could think about was our families who were flown out from Cross Lake and imagine what they went through."

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Lathlin said she spent the night on a couch in a waiting room.

"All I felt was the role of a struggling mother — took the blame," she said, her voice cracking.

"When we were finally let out of the waiting room into the ward I was holding my daughter's hand and I started realizing that she was holding my hand, you know."

Applause echoed through the room as Lathlin spoke about how much she admired her daughter's courage and dedication to healing.

For Lathlin the story linked to a lack of mental health supports in the north but she also spoke about issues for Indigenous people in the city.

"I'm currently raising my younger sister's three young children. She is currently living a high-risk lifestyle in downtown Winnipeg," Lathlin said.

The Bear Clan Patrol have helped with wellness checks Lathlin explained, but she still fears that the next news story about a body in the river or an assault will be her sister.

"I also tried to report her missing one time to the Winnipeg Police Services. As soon as I mentioned that she is Aboriginal and lives a high-risk lifestyle, the concern in that operator's voice disappeared," she said.

"In fact she told me 'she is 20 years old, she can do whatever she wants'."

On Wednesday Scott Fielding, the minister of the recently named Families Department, spoke about the Progressive Conservatives upcoming Protecting Children Act. Opposition critics from both the provincial Liberal and New Democratic Parties said they were looking for the government to go further, specifically when it came to Indigenous children. 

• Manitoba's Protecting Children Act must go further: NDP, Liberal critics say