Key recommendations of the Laurent Commission, including the appointment of a Children’s Rights Commissioner, are slow to be implemented because of the Quebec Health Agency, which is mobilizing the energies of civil servants, Minister Lionel Carmant said Thursday.
“We are working on it, but at the moment we are also working on the agency,” dropped the Minister responsible for Social Services, Lionel Carmant, during the study of credits. “Our teams are very involved in the “social services” aspect of the health agency. »
In 2021, the Laurent Commission had recommended the creation of a position of Commissioner for Children’s Rights appointed by the National Assembly for a term of seven years – in the same capacity as the Public Protector or the Auditor General. This person was to be supported by an assistant commissioner dedicated to Aboriginal children. The commission also recommended the creation of a Charter of the Rights of the Child.
In February 2022, Mr. Carmant had indicated that he intended to table a bill to create the post of commissioner, which he also described as an “ombudsman” for children.
On Thursday, the Liberal opposition took advantage of the study of supply to ask the minister why these two recommendations had not yet been implemented, two years later.
“When will the implementation begin? asked Robert-Baldwin MP Brigitte Garceau, stressing that these were the Laurent Commission’s “flagship” recommendations.
The Minister replied that his department’s legal services were “working on it”, but that it would depend in particular on Bill 15 on the creation of Health Quebec, which has more than 1,000 articles and whose adoption will probably require several more months of work.
The current parliamentary session is due to end on June 9 and work will resume in the fall, at the National Assembly.
More details will follow.