'THE SYSTEM FAILED HER❜

Ford open to broader examination of what went wrong in case of child found dead in dumpster

- ROB FERGUSON

Ontario’s child protection system “failed” a fouryear-old girl named Neveah whose remains were found in a Rosedale dumpster about a year after her mysterious death, Premier Doug Ford acknowledges.

While it’s up to Ontario’s chief coroner to call an inquest into the case — as child welfare advocates have been urging — Ford said he is open to a broader examination of what went wrong after Neveah was returned to her mother by a court order following time in the care of Children’s Aid.

“We’ve got to make sure it never happens again, and no matter if it takes a wider scope to look at it, we need to do everything we can,” the premier told reporters Wednesday in Vaughan, where he announced $26 million for new facilities at LiUNA 183’s skilled trades training campus.

“I believe the system failed her,” Ford added.

“It’s an absolute tragedy.” Although Neveah’s remains were found in 2022, a recent Star investigation that uncovered new details about her death has raised troubling questions about how she died in 2021 and how a child who had been under protection could end up dead in a dumpster — with no one looking for her in the intervening months or held responsible for her death.

“It’s heartbreaking,” said Ford.

As the Star’s Wendy Gillis and Jennifer Pagliaro reported last month, there was no missing person’s report for Neveah, whose name was variation of “heaven” spelled backwards. Her last name is subject to a court-ordered publication ban to prevent identifying members of her family.