The children of the DPJ have nothing to do with our tears

The future commissioner for child welfare and rights must have more powers.

We can be horrified, scandalized, moved or angry when reading the numerous reports on the children of the DPJ published in The Press And The sun lately.

But our overflow of emotions will not change the reality of vulnerable young people.

What they need is someone who specifically looks out for their well-being. Someone who defends their rights in the public square and within the labyrinth that is the Quebec state.

This person is the future commissioner for the well-being and rights of children provided for in Bill 37. This is one of the main recommendations of the Laurent commission report, made public ago three years already. An institution on which everyone, including the Minister responsible for Social Services, Lionel Carmant, has great hope.

Unfortunately, in its current version, Bill 37, tabled last October, does not go far enough. He proposes a watered-down version of what the Laurent commission had proposed. A version which raises serious doubts as to the ability of this future commissioner to accomplish his task.

Priority: independence

The Laurent commission recommended that we draw inspiration from what is being done elsewhere in the country. In fact, provinces such as New Brunswick, Ontario and Alberta all have a child protector while in Quebec, there is no institution whose exclusive mandate is to promote and defend the rights of children. children, an obligation under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The future commissioner, argued the authors of the Laurent report, should be independent and enjoy the same powers as the citizen protector, the auditor general and the Commission on Human Rights.
person and youth rights (CDPDJ). Concretely, this means that he should be appointed by the National Assembly, to which he should be accountable. His seven-year mandate would be renewable and he would receive recurring funding to carry out his mission.

The Commission also considered that this position of commissioner should be included in a possible charter of children’s rights.

These recommendations are essential. The future commissioner must not become another official who “sits around the table” to think “about the best interests of the child”.

The person who will carry the voice of the children must be able to meet them anywhere in Quebec. She must be able to investigate, intervene and sound the alarm if necessary.

The CDPDJ singled out

Until now, it is mainly journalists who alert public opinion. Week after week, my colleagues unearth horror stories: abuse to which those around them turned a blind eye, sexual exploitation, violence, deplorable and inadequate living conditions, rights violations… Personally, I know dogs and cats who are treated a lot better than certain children under the protection of the DPJ.

Do you find that normal ? Me neither.

The CDPDJ is singled out: lawyers and even some of its former employees believe that it does not play its role of watchdog. He is criticized for his inaction and passivity.

In an interview a month ago, the president of the Commission, Philippe-André Tessier, told me that we had added youth resources and that we were more present in the regions. He also explained to me that the role of the Commission was poorly understood. “We do our job, we do it well, our deadlines are good,” said Mr. Tessier, recalling that the Laurent commission advocated diversion of youth cases. According to him, the intervention of the CDPDJ before the courts, as essential as it is, must be an exception. “What is strange about this case,” he told me a month ago, “is that we find ourselves defending ourselves from not going to the Court enough when all the reports say that we should go there less often. »

“If we have to go to the Youth Chamber,” he continued, “by the time we do that, the situation has not been corrected. What is the most effective way to resolve the situation quickly? That’s the priority. »

M^e Tessier concluded that the Commission needed to communicate better. I am not an expert in youth law, but it seems to me that all these beautiful people should learn to talk to each other.

A sad birthday

The hearings on Bill 37 are suspended for an indefinite period, we learned last week. We should take advantage of this ruling to return to the fundamentals of the Laurent commission. This is, among others, the opinion of the Vice-President of the Commission, André Lebon, an opinion that I share.

Minister Carmant must redo his homework and he must act quickly. The young people have waited long enough. When we know that we will have to wait six months after the adoption of the bill to appoint the commissioner, every day counts.

Tuesday, we will mark the 5^e anniversary of the death of the woman who is now known as the little girl from Granby.

At the time, Prime Minister François Legault promised that there would be a before and an after Granby.

We’re still waiting for what’s next.

What do you think ? Participate in the dialogue