Portage la Prairie's MLA is questioning the impact of the province's announcement regarding child welfare in southern Manitoba First Nations.

Ian Wishart is also the PC critic for Child and Family Services, and is responding to the province's decision to have a seven-person board made up of First Nations representatives overseeing the Southern First Nations Network of Care Child and Family Services Authority. He feels the announcement is a step in the right direction, but adds it doesn't really provide First Nations with full control of the matter.

"The administrators will still answer to the minister's office. There is a board in place, they have yet to meet. I hope they're able to pick up some authority there but it's been nearly three years since the minister stepped in and took control away from the local authorities there. This is more about the announcement, and less about the reality of changing control back."

Wishart feels more needs to be done to transfer control of child welfare to those communities. He says the Tories will watch the situation closely in the future, to ensure the children remain the top priority.

"It's the largest of the authorities, so certainly it's very important to all Manitobans that this is done properly and that the people who are supposed to be running it be put back in charge and that it's done right. Certainly we don't want to be in a position where kids are put at risk because it's not done properly."

Wishart notes the northern authority is still controlled by the provincial government, and says there have been quite a few issues with the devolution process.