Lake St. Martin flood evacuee charged in baby's malnutrition death would've had help in community: chief

The chief of a First Nation devastated by flooding more than a decade ago says the malnutrition death of a two-month-old baby in Winnipeg likely wouldn't have happened if his mother had been able to return home and get support in her community.

Winnipeg police charged the infant's mother,27-year-old Alyssa Ross, with manslaughter last week, about two months after her son was pronounced dead at a home on Atlantic Avenue.

Autopsy reports determined the death of her son, King Campbell-Ross, was a result of malnutrition, police said in a news release.

During a court hearing in 2017, where the woman pleaded guilty to an impaired driving charge, court heard she was forced to leave her home in Lake St. Martin First Nation as a teen after flooding devastated the Interlake community in 2011.

At the time of the hearing, she was 20 years old and had two pre-school aged children.

The woman's lawyer, Aaron Braun, told the court she wanted to return to her home community, but that was likely "still years away."

Lake St. Martin First Nation Chief Christopher Traverse says he thinks the tragic situation involving Ross and her baby could have been avoided if she had been able to go home.

"If she would have reached out, I would have helped her get that food and nutrition for her kids," he said.

"For a baby to be a victim? That's wrong. It hurts me that I wasn't able to help."

The entire community of Lake St. Martinnearly 3,000 people had to evacuate their homes during the 2011 flooding in the Interlake community. A court later ruled the flooding was at least in part the fault of the Manitoba government, which chose to divert water into Lake Manitoba to protect the city of Winnipeg.

Over a decade later, Traverse says there are still more than 1,000 people who haven't been able to return to the community, most of whom are living in Winnipeg.

"It's hard living in Winnipeg a lot of people fall victim to violence here, to suicide, to drug overdoses," he said.

The infant's death is not the first tragedy to befall Lake St. Martin members displaced from their homes.

Last December, two sisters originally from Lake St. Martin were among four people killed in a mass shooting in a Winnipeg rooming house.

Months before, the remains of another member of the community, Linda Mary Beardy, were found in the Brady landfill in Winnipeg. Police say her death was accidental.

Traverse said these examples show the need for more government support to rebuild after the flood and help community members return home.

He said he knows there is a long list of people who want to move back to the First Nation but can't due to a lack of available housing.

Advocate calls for more supports

The office of the Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth said last Friday it is currently reviewing the infant's death.

Sherry Gott, Manitoba's Advocate for Children and Youth, couldn't comment on the specifics of this case but said she thinks it shows that generally speaking, better supports for new mothers are needed to ensure their baby's needs are met.

That's especially true if they don't have their family or other people in the community to help them, she said.

"It is very overwhelming when you have a new baby it's a 24-hour care kind of thing. When you don't have the appropriate supports, things happen," she said.

"I hope that in the future, new moms get the support that they need."

None of the allegations against Ross have been proven in court. Her next court date is on March 1.