Organs can be harvested from children who die in Alberta care

Treaty 8 Grand Chief Steve Courtoreille says organ donations from children who die in government care will be one of the priority issues raised when Chiefs meet with Alberta’s new premier, Rachel Notley. Courtoreille says he was “disgusted” to learn that a policy implemented in 2006 allowed the government to harvest organs from children who died in care. In 2014, the policy was amended to include children who died while under temporary guardianship order. “We needed to know about the policy. We would have asked them to take it out,” said Courtoreille. The majority of children in care in Alberta are Aboriginal. “It’s bad enough that our children are taken from our homes, but now this?” he said. The government said it consulted with 18 First Nations agencies and 12 CEOs of Child and Family agencies. “Who are these agencies?” asked Courtoreille. “There are 44 First Nations in Alberta and somehow everyone was missed.”