The Quebec Human Rights Commission in turn protests against the treatment reserved by the mayor of Anjou, Luis Miranda, to a teenager who came to question him in the borough council.
Posted at 5:04 p.m.
In a letter sent to the borough mayor, that The Press obtained, the president of the Commission for Human Rights and Youth Rights, Philippe-André Tessier, criticized Mr. Miranda’s attitude during the October 4 assembly.
“The Commission deplores your remarks to this fifteen-year-old young man, Hocine Ouendi, who took a civic and committed approach and who used the democratic system of municipal life to avail himself of his fundamental rights and to defend the well-being young people in his borough,” writes Mr. Tessier.
Hocine Ouendi went to the borough council to question the mayor about the closure of synthetic soccer fields, following acts of vandalism. The teenager had proposed hiring supervisors to prevent mischief.
He had been sharply criticized and interrupted by Mr. Miranda, who admonished him for daring to ask him a question. “At 15, I don’t even have a business talking to him,” said the borough mayor, suggesting that the mother of young Hocine should educate her son better.
The President of the Human Rights Commission reminded the Mayor that the Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified in Canada in 1991, stipulates that “States parties guarantee to the child who is capable of discernment the right to freely express his opinion on any matter that interests him.
He emphasizes that children are full people and not second-class citizens. “We deplore the non-recognition of this fact, by an elected municipal authority in addition,” he laments.
“With this letter, we want to make the Anjou Borough Council aware of the importance of being more inclusive and more respectful of the rights of children and young people. »
On Monday, the city council blamed Luis Miranda for his “discriminatory” remarks towards the teenager. The mayor acknowledged that some of his remarks were inadequate, but added that he was motivated by the existence of a real problem of cohabitation between certain young people and other citizens of the borough.
Luis Miranda apologized, but he still hasn’t contacted Hocine Ouendi or his family to apologize to them in person.