The provincial government is ending the practice of social workers moving to remove a child at birth, but according to the Premier, it does not have an alternative policy in place.

Social workers, depending on the circumstances, will remove the child at birth if there are concerns for the child’s safety or the parent’s capacity to care for the child.

So-called “birth alerts” were highlighted by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls as disproportionately affecting Indigenous women.

Premier Andrew Furey was unable to give any figures on the number of birth alerts within the department on an annual basis but acknowledged it was something that had to be addressed as part of government’s commitment to reconciliation.

As for what will be done to replace the policy, Furey indicated that’s a work in progress.

“It’s more important to get the policy right moving forward as opposed to where it was in the past,” says Furey.

“Whatever that new policy instrument looks like is still under discussion.”