Losing control: How Manitoba's public guardian system leaves people feeling trapped, stripped of their rights and helpless ( www.cbc.ca )

When George Kinsman left a Winnipeg hospital in 2022, he had no idea he was walking out a man who had lost his legal right to make his own decisions.

The 73-year-old retiree receives more than $2,000 monthly from the government for his pension and old age security payments — but learned the money is no longer his to spend.

Kinsman is one of over 2,700 people whose personal and financial decisions are under the complete control of the public trustee because a doctor deemed them mentally incompetent.

The Public Guardian and Trustee of Manitoba sets a budget for his phone, internet and cable. He isn't allowed to have a cellphone or a long-distance plan, meaning he can't phone his only son, who lives in England.

A CBC investigation has found Manitoba's public trustee system has a series of gaps that make it easy to fall into public guardianship, but difficult to get out.