Considered a priority by the opposition parties and the government, the reform of the Department of Youth Protection (DPJ) will pass in the coming days the second stage of the sprint towards its adoption: that of special consultations. No need to worry, assures Régine Laurent, who salutes the “good job from Quebec.
Bill 15 must “in-depth modify the Youth Protection Act”, affirms its author, Minister Lionel Carmant. He filed the first part of his reform at the beginning of December, in what is intended to be a response to the dense report filed a few months earlier by Mme Laurent as President of the Special Commission on Children’s Rights and Youth Protection.
“It couldn’t wait any longer. It should have been done a long time ago,” says Camil Bouchard, who also presided over the writing of an important report on youth protection. His approach led, more than 30 years ago, to the writing ofA Quebec crazy about its children. The former MP will testify in committee this week. Just like M.me Lawrence.
However, it is without the presence of the regional directors of youth protection — and without that of the national director, Catherine Lemay — that the study of Bill 15 will begin on Tuesday. regional spokespersons have been invited to submit a joint brief, which should arrive during the week. Minister Carmant also met with them on Monday afternoon to hear their points of view.
A long-awaited reform
The CAQ reform of the DPJ can no longer wait, support the opposition groups in the National Assembly. Almost three years after the tragic death of the “girl from Granby”, her adoption is “fundamental”, proclaimed last month the elected PQ Martin Ouellet.
“Fundamental”, because it comes to bring a key nuance in the Act, observes Camil Bouchard in an interview with The duty. “It had become a law protecting the bonds between parent and child,” he says.
As recommended by the Laurent report, Lionel Carmant chose to clearly state in his bill that the interest of the child must prevail over that of the parents or the biological family. If adopted, the piece of legislation would completely change the analysis grid used by the workers of the DPJ and the judges.
“We are finally going to put the interests of the child first,” Premier François Legault said last December. It means before the interest of the natural family and the biological parents. »
It had become a law of protection of the bonds between the parent and the child
Régine Laurent reserves her first comments for the elected members of the National Assembly, whom she will meet on Tuesday. She still welcomes the first draft of the reform. “There are clarifications, things, maybe, that are missing. But it’s a good one job “, she was content to say to the Duty.
Reply to Granby
” [La Loi] said that each of the measures had to tend to maintain the child in his family environment, which implied that the family environment was necessarily in his interest, explains Camil Bouchard. And that, it confused the tracks everywhere in the system. »
The former psychology teacher evokes “the Granby event”. A seven-year-old girl died that day, and the current legislative framework is no stranger to it, he argues.
“What we see in these situations is really a lack of communication,” said Minister Carmant in December, when questioned about this affair. By amending the Act, the elected CAQ wishes to modify the rules of confidentiality. The idea: to ensure that the DYP can identify a problematic case more quickly.
Except Mme Laurent and Mr. Bouchard, the Barreau du Québec, the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse and the Marie-Vincent Foundation, in particular, will speak in the next few days before the parliamentary committee.