Quebec’s newly appointed youth protection director promises greater transparency
Posted October 31, 2024 12:16 pm.
Last Updated October 31, 2024 1:45 pm.
Newly appointed national director of youth protection, Lesley Hill held a joint press conference on Thursday with Social Services Minister Lionel Carmant, promising greater transparency.
“We’re going to have to put a big light in our house, in all the closets, in all the rooms of the house, and we might find cobwebs, and we’re going to have to clean them,” she said.
Carmant and the CAQ have been in turmoil since the media revealed a series of scandals at the Direction de la protection de la jeunesse (DPJ).
Several incidents also led to the resignation of the previous director, Catherine Lemay, on Monday.
Hill is a former commissioner of the Laurent Commission, which examined the state of the youth protection system following the tragic death of a Granby girl in 2019.
On Thursday, she promised to be a “watchdog” for Quebec’s children.
“I have nothing to lose,” she said, explaining that she came out of retirement to take the job. “It’s a bit brave of the government to put me in a position like that, because I’m bound to be vocal. I will not hesitate to say what I have to say.”
Like all Quebecers, she was shocked at the number of problems within the DPJ. She pointed out that the network’s employees are required by law to report unacceptable situations.
“As of next week, I am sending a directive. We want people to talk about intolerable situations. I will speak to the Québec Ombudsman as quickly as possible, because we need to protect the people who are sounding the alarm.”
Last week, media reports revealed that educators had sexual relations with under-age residents at the Cité-des-Prairies rehabilitation centre in Montreal.
Other cases of sexual misconduct also allegedly took place in Laval and Montérégie, according to La Presse.
And the DPJ Mauricie—Centre-du-Québec is being placed under guardianship due to poor management of children’s files who were placed for adoption without a complete assessment.
The Estrie DPJ also wanted to separate two-year-old triplets to have them adopted, even though their biological mother was able to take care of them, according to La Presse.
On Thursday, Québec solidaire MNA Guillaume Cliche-Rivard said that Carmant was no longer the right man for the job and that he had to resign.
“Carmant did not demonstrate the necessary urgency this week. I did not feel that he was shaken enough,” said Cliche-Rivard in a press scrum at the National Assembly.
He pointed out that Carmant also dismissed, a request on Wednesday from the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse to relocate young people from the Mont-Saint-Antoine centre due to unsanitary conditions.
The PLQ already called for Carmant’s resignation on Tuesday, whereas Premier François Legault said that he had “total confidence” in him, and the minister said he would not step down.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews