Family of slain 6-year-old suing Quebec youth protection, health board
The family of a slain six-year-old girl has filed a lawsuit against Quebec youth protection and the Montreal south-central health and social services centre (CIUSSS).
The girl was killed by her mother in 2020, and the family said repeated calls for the child to be removed were ignored.
"She was forgotten, ignored by youth protection," said Maelie's half-sister Mari-Lou Filiatrault. "The very people we turn to when we fear for the safety of our children."
The lawsuit alleges four reports of negligence, including excessive alcohol and drug use, were made to youth projection but Filiatrault said they were ignored.
"I tried to help my half-sister," said Filiatrault. "I did everything I could to keep her safe and to try and save her. I wanted to get her out of there."
In July 2020, several 911 calls were made around 3 a.m., reporting yelling inside a home in the Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough.
When police arrived, they found a six-year-old girl inside with several stab wounds.
She later died in the hospital.
Her mother pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and is now serving a 10-year sentence.
The lawsuit is seeking $3 million in damages and hopes to fix what the family calls a broken system.
"It's for the system to wake up," said family lawyer Valerie Assouline.
"Had we listened to the sister, had we listened to the four calls, not one, not two, four, the family is convinced that Maelie would be alive today."
CTV News reached out to both the minister responsible for youth protection and the regional health board, but neither would comment on the situation as it's before the courts.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Guilty: Trump becomes first former U.S. president convicted of felony crimes
Donald Trump became the first former American president to be convicted of felony crimes Thursday as a New York jury found him guilty of all 34 charges in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to a porn actor who said the two had sex.
Can Trump come to Canada now that he's a convicted felon?
A Canadian immigration lawyer says now that Donald Trump is a convicted felon, he is technically barred from crossing the border into Canada.
Montreal tech billionaire charged with several sex offences
Robert Miller was charged Thursday with several sexual assault charges after Montreal police reopened an investigation into the tech billionaire.
Police: 3 killed, including suspected gunman, in Minneapolis shooting
Three people, including the suspected gunman, are dead after a shooting Thursday at a Minneapolis apartment complex, police said.
'Why didn't they stop?' Mom asks of driver in hit-and-run crash that killed son
The mother of a 13-year-old boy who was killed in a hit-and-run in Edmonton is begging the driver to come forward.
The northern lights are returning to night skies across Canada this Friday
If you missed the brilliant displays of the aurora borealis over North America on May 10, you may have another chance to see them on Friday night.
A pair enjoyed pricey meals and bolted when it was time to pay. Their dine and dash ended in jail
A Welsh couple who dined out on pricey meals and bolted when the bill came is now paying the price, behind bars.
$400K in damages for B.C. woman who had unnecessary mastectomy was 'inordinately high,' court finds
A jury's award of $400,000 to a woman who had a mastectomy after being misdiagnosed with breast cancer has been substantially reduced by B.C.'s highest court, which found the damages were "wholly disproportionate."