The Ministry of Children and Family Development is now looking into its processes for its birth alert system.

The review comes after an Indigenous newborn, called Baby H, was seized two days after being born at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops, although the ministry did not link the incident to the review.

Minister Katrine Conroy says for legal reasons she couldn’t comment on Baby H, but says in general, social workers work very hard with families.

“Social workers are always looking for ways to keep families together by using extended family to help. And in Indigenous communities, looking at aunties or other elders. Once they’ve exhausted all of those avenues, only then would they consider taking a child into care. So they look at every way that they can possibly provide those supports,” Conroy says.

“The bottom line is, the safety and well being of children is a priority. Keeping families together is also a priority.”

Social workers had moved to take Baby H 90 minutes after birth, on June 12, but was taken instead from the baby’s home on June 14 to foster care in Williams Lake. The baby had lived in four different homes within three weeks of birth.