WATERLOO REGION

Seven of the 90 children known to Ontario's child welfare system who died in 2007, were from Waterloo Region.

Peter Ringrose of Family and Children's Services of Waterloo Region called the seven deaths "extremely high."

The 90 deaths from 2007 represent the most recent statistics from Ontario's chief coroner, they were contained in a report to the legislature by the province's child and youth advocate yesterday.

Ringrose is concerned that unsafe sleeping arrangements have caused too many baby deaths.

"It is clearly an issue," said.

Of the seven deaths, four of the babies died of suffocation after sharing a bed with a parent, who either rolled ton top of the infant ended, or the baby rolled over and ended up sleeping on its stomach.

Sleeping on their backs is a safest position for babies, he said.

The infants ranged in age from one month to 15 months.

None of the babies were in foster care or were Crown wards.

All four died at home and the agency had contact with their parents because of issues with the families, Ringrose said.

Of the three remaining babies who died, one was medically fragile and died in a local institution, another died from a sudden illness and the death of a three-month-old girl involved a police investigation. The infant's mother, Paula Lee, is charged with first-degree murder.

In his report, Irwin Elman, who became the province's first independent child advocate last summer, said the government's refusal to share detailed information about the deaths with his office limits his ability to act.

He said he will "vigorously pursue" the issue by proposing an amendment to the provincial Coroner's Act to give him full access to all reports concerning the death of children and youth involved in the child welfare system.

In an interview, Children's Minister Deb Matthews said her ministry "fully supports the child advocate" and has drafted a protocol to ensure Elman's office gets information he requests about children currently in the system within 10 days.

A spokesperson for Community Safety Minister Rich Bartolucci, said the chief coroner's office "isn't considering changes to the Coroner's Act" at this time.

Children's aid societies say they are leery of the child advocate gaining access to detailed information about deaths of children in the system.

"The issue of children who have died I think is clearly and extensively covered by the role of the coroner's office," said Virginia Rowden, director of social policy for the Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies which represents 51 of the province's 53 CASs.

In 2006 and 2007, 41 baby deaths in Ontario were attributed to bed sharing.

This led the Ontario coroner's office to call bed sharing "a genuine public safety issue."

Last year, the regional health unit conducted a public awareness campaign urging caregivers to ensure infants under one sleep on their backs.

Ringrose said the safest place for babies to sleep on their backs is in their own crib and adults should not share the same sleeping surface.

He said the agency is working with other social agencies to help financially-strapped parents get a safe crib.

While seven deaths is higher than normal, Ringrose said in other years there have been no deaths or just a few.

He said the agency works with "a very vulnerable population" who are exposed to higher risks than other infants.

fbarrick@therecord.com, with files from Record news services