Winnipeg Sun: NEWS - Shakeup for Trustee

A public victory-great QJ
Winnipeg Sun: NEWS - Shakeup for Trustee: "Justice Minister Gord Mackintosh and Health Minister Tim Sale have struck a working group to review all laws and practices that govern the Office of the Public Trustee, which could result in sweeping changes to how people have their lives taken over by the government.
The move comes after a series of stories in The Winnipeg Sun that exposed a serious lack of due process, appeals and basic rights for individuals who have their affairs taken over by the Public Trustee.
'I have some real concerns about a need for more checks and balances, natural justice or protections for the public,' Mackintosh told The Sun yesterday. 'There will be change.'
The story of Thomas Hanaway, 80, who had his life taken over by the Public Trustee last month, caused a firestorm of controversy and triggered a series that blew the lid off a system in desperate need of reform.
The Sun series also unearthed a precedent-setting court ruling last year by Queen's Bench Justice Murray Sinclair, who criticized the laws that govern the public trustee process.
The July 2004 written ruling got no publicity at the time but will now form an important part of the government probe.
'We have some serious concerns about the need to strengthen protections for those involved in this process,' said Mackintosh. 'It appears that there are some areas where due process should be improved and I want to see it improved.'
Mackintosh says one of the most important aspects of the process that requires change is how the province's director of psychiatric services appoints the Public Trustee as committee in the first place.
The Sun series showed how little investigation is done on a person before the Public Trustee is appointed, including no home visits or personal contact with the individual or family."