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“This is a family that’s been under a lot of stress. It’s a very tragic situation in terms of her illness and we just don’t wish to make it worse,” he said.

Makayla is suffering from a unique form of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, the most common form of childhood cancer. Under proper treatment, it has a survivability rate as high as 80% for children.

The girl’s disease went into remission after undergoing an initial 11 weeks of chemotherapy at McMaster Children’s Hospital. Treatments were planned to continue but she asked to stop chemotherapy after she experienced severe side effects such as nausea, loss of appetite and weight loss.

In an email to the National Post, the hospital said health-care professionals have a legal obligation to alert authorities when they believe a child may be at risk.

Mr. Koster said Makayla’s “voice had to be heard.”

“Under our Child and Family Services act we have to recognize the traditions and the community of First Nations people who are given rights under the act,” he said.

Mr. Koster said the agency was given legal advice on the case and that it was not difficult to come to the final decision.

When asked if he was concerned about backlash from the public regarding the agency’s decision, Mr. Koster said: “We can live with the decision we made.”

Nahnda Garlow, who has been acting as the Sault family’s spokeswoman, described the family’s reaction to the new to Two Row Times newspaper. “Makayla’s family members embraced one another with happy tears and the youth of the New Credit First Nation came together to sing honour songs for the family.”

National Post, with files from Tristin Hopper