$279,458. This is the annual salary of Catherine Lemay, national director of youth protection. Appointed in 2021, she saw her mandate renewed in March 2024 despite results that left a bitter taste.
$279,458. An amount that exceeds that of Prime Minister Legault. And yet, it is this sum that we pay to a person who is supposed to devote himself to a most sacred mission: protecting our children.
His mandate? On paper, it is clear: ensure that throughout Quebec, standards of practice are respected, that each action taken by the DPJ is in accordance with the highest standards of protection. In theory, it must ensure the well-being of the most vulnerable, those who rely on the system to offer them a second chance. But in reality, where is she when everything falls apart?
When we read the explosive file revealed by The Press on the abuses and excesses of the DPJ Mauricie–Centre-du-Québec, and the placing under supervision of this region by Minister Carmant, we cannot help but ask ourselves this question: Mme Is Lemay really taking responsibility?
How can we explain that it was the Commission on Human Rights and Youth Rights (CDPDJ), mandated by the minister, which revealed these dehumanizing practices and not the national director, the one who is paid handsomely to monitor all of this?
How can we understand that the minister himself learned the damning details of this report by consulting the media, rather than receiving this crucial information directly from his director, the one in whom we are supposed to trust to guarantee that such tragedies do not occur? not?
And where was Catherine Lemay when the children were placed for adoption without a full assessment having been done, or when others were taken from their families without any ground verification being carried out? How can she justify this silence, this lack of control, this inaction in the face of practices that destroy lives?
And it’s not over yet. As if the failure in the DPJ of Mauricie–Centre-du-Québec was not enough, Minister Carmant is now mandating it to inspect other regional directorates! The one who failed to protect children in one region is entrusted with the task of verifying whether these horrors are not repeated elsewhere. How can anyone tolerate such absurdity?
The outrage is palpable. We feel betrayed, worried. How can we still believe in our ability to manage the protection of our children? What more do we need to understand that this system, as it is run today, is not working?
The conclusion is inevitable: Catherine Lemay must leave voluntarily or under duress. It’s not just a question of salary, it’s a question of moral responsibility. At how many sacrificed children will we finally say that enough is enough?