Advocate vows thorough investigation in 5-year-old’s death

Saskatchewan’s child advocate is promising an independent investigation into the tragic death of a Saskatoon kindergartner.

Ahmedsadiq Elmmi, 5, was pronounced dead in hospital after being found Monday in a retention pond near École Dundonald School.

Speaking Thursday on Gormley, Saskatchewan Advocate for Children and Youth Corey O’Soup said while having a case referred from the education system is rare, his mandate is to investigate any death of a child receiving services from the provincial government.

“Most of our cases do come from the social services world or, you know, the youth corrections world. But it’s not beyond our responsibility to look into it,” he said.

In Elmmi’s case, O’Soup said officials with Saskatoon Public Schools also asked for his office to step in.

“We decided that it was best to put an independent investigation lens on this child’s death.”

O’Soup said his investigation would run parralel to any work by the coroner’s office.

“We’re going to be looking at the system: Whether they have a policy in place, was that policy followed? We’re looking for gaps in policies. We’re looking to make sure that this doesn’t happen again. And that’s the main focus of our investigation.”

O’Soup said he didn’t want to decide whether the investigation’s final report would be made public or kept private before he had a chance to speak with Elmmi’s family. He said a number of factors would weigh into the decision, including public interest in the case.

He said he was hoping to have the investigation completed within three to four months.