Called to modify the role of National Director of Youth Protection to make it more independent, Minister Lionel Carmant remains inflexible. The creation of a children’s rights commissioner in a subsequent bill will address several concerns, he said.
“I think people confuse the two roles,” noted Mr. Carmant in an interview with The duty Tuesday morning, a few minutes before starting the detailed study of his bill nº 15 aimed at reforming the Department of Youth Protection (DPJ).
In its report issued in May last year, the Special Commission on Children’s Rights and Youth Protection – chaired by Régine Laurent – recommended that the government proceed with the creation of two separate posts as part of its reform of the DPJ: a National Director of Youth Protection, as well as a Commissioner for the Welfare and Rights of Children.
The first was embedded in the bill tabled in December by Minister Carmant. The second had not yet been the subject of concrete announcements. However, on Tuesday, Mr. Carmant confirmed that the post of Commissioner would see the light of day in a bill. “We will have to wait for a second term if we want to be realistic,” he said.
Last week, in parliamentary committee, several speakers deplored that the national director also holds the position of assistant deputy minister. In a brief, fifteen regional directors of youth protection mentioned the risks of drift and political influence. Opposition groups are urging Quebec to proceed by vote in the National Assembly to avoid any “interference”.
According to Minister Carmant, there is gender confusion.
“The role we gave to the national director is a role of harmonizing practices. The Commission [Laurent] insisted that she take on the role of assistant deputy minister, raised the elected representative of the Coalition avenir Québec. Eventually, we’ll look for the Commissioner. »
Adjustments
In an interview, Mr. Carmant agreed that he wanted to review certain aspects of his bill. As mentioned last week, he will propose a modification to the preamble of the legislative text, in order to make the interest of the young person the main consideration in the analysis of the files.
The MP for Taillon also wants to include domestic violence as a “reason for compromising” the safety of the child. The violent behavior of one parent towards the other could therefore become a pretext for turning to the DYP.
“We even want to elaborate a little more. If we come to give more information on the impact of domestic violence on the development of the child, it really becomes a strong argument,” he said.
Last week, Régine Laurent asked Mr. Carmant to revise the law to allow young people to stay in foster care until the age of 21. “In audience, young people told us: stop being a homelessness factory. Staying with a host family means you don’t end up on the street with broken dreams,” she said.
The legislative route is not the right one to review the process of transition to adult life, according to Mr. Carmant, who still hears the caveats issued last week. The chosen one maintains that in the long term, it will be possible for a young person placed to stay in a foster family after his 18th birthday.
“For the moment, it remains a law that applies to children. Can we redefine the word “child”? Lawyers tell me no,” he observed.
The detailed study of Bill 15 continues this week in Parliament.