Toddler in provincial care dies at Calgary hospital

A two-year-old child in the care of the province died in a Calgary hospital, a provincial official says.

The boy from the Tsuu T'ina First Nation died on Sept. 25 at Alberta Children’s Hospital, said Human Services spokeswoman Lisa Shankaruk.

The situation is being reviewed to examine whether there should be a further investigation.

"When children do pass away in care, we need to learn from it and to see what supports are available and all those things. It's a number of things we need to look into," said Alberta's Human Services Minister Heather Klimchuk.

The child’s family has asked for privacy and has obtained a publication ban to prevent the release of any further details.

The Human Services department said it had no plans to announce this death, other than to include it when data is released to the public.

Officials said they cannot release the cause of the boy's death for confidentiality reasons, nor will they reveal the type of care the child was receiving.

Earlier this year the province passed a new law lifting the automatic publication ban on information concerning children who die in provincial care.

That means children can now be identified with the consent of their parents.