The children’s advocate in Manitoba is opening a second office in Thompson, Man., to serve children and youth in care in the province’s north.
The new location would be the first for the Office of the Children’s Advocate outside Winnipeg, Manitoba children’s advocate Daphne Penrose told reporters Friday.
“I think they deserve a place where they can come and access an advocate and to better engage,” she said.
A location has already been selected for the office and she said she hopes to have it up and running by the summer.
While the office would be the first bricks-and-mortar presence in northern Manitoba, Penrose said her office regularly travels to northern communities.
“We do get a lot of calls from the north right now so definitely our presence is up there.”
Penrose said she wants staff at the office in Thompson — which is approximately 650 kilometres north of Winnipeg — to represent the community it serves.
Her office is in the process of hiring an Indigenous deputy advocate, who will be working closely with the Thompson office, she said.
A spokesperson said the Office of the Children’s Advocate is beginning the vetting process for candidates. Applications for the position closed in November.
Penrose said if her office needs more funding after the creation of the new Thompson office, she won’t be shy about asking for it.
“If what we’ve been provided is not sufficient I will be coming back with data-informed information about what it is we need to adequately provide children up there.”
The Office of the Children’s Advocate first announced its intention to open a northern office in an annual report released in November.
The mission of the independent office is “to ensure the voices of children and youth involved with the child welfare system are heard” and to “advocate for systemic change for the benefit of children and youth,” the children’s advocate’s website says.