In an ideal world, we could go back in time and prevent the death of the girl from Granby.
In reality, to do justice to this 7 year old child, there were only two solutions. The first is the verdict that has been rendered. He offered, it is true, “a little dignity” to the child.
The second is the possibility of learning from this drama.
The tragic fate of the girl, who died in 2019, had cast a harsh light on the problems of youth protection services and, more broadly, the entire safety net woven around vulnerable children in Quebec.
As we speak, there is good news and bad news on this subject.
We’ll start with the right one.
Because we all need, in the context, to know that everything is not always discouraging.
There was a real political will to change things and the road traveled since the tragedy is considerable.
Let’s go there, briefly, in chronological order.
After a wave of indignation, we set up the Special Commission on the Rights of Children and Youth Protection, headed by Régine Laurent. She did a remarkable job.
First by offering a first series of urgent recommendations at mid-term, in December 2019. Then, last May, by publishing a comprehensive report that contains the procedure to follow to “establish a caring society for our children and our young people” .
This report has not been tabled. On the contrary.
A position of national director of youth protection has been created.
We injected new money (200 million in three years) in accordance with the spirit of several of the recommendations of the Commission.
And we just took, at the beginning of December, two other major gestures:
- Bill 15 “amending the Youth Protection Act and other legislative provisions ”.
- A plan was presented for the stages of implementation of the recommendations of the Laurent commission.
At the heart of Bill 15 are changes that will have a significant impact on vulnerable children and those who care for them. And which, for some, had been claimed for a long time.
This is the case of strengthening the primacy of the interests of children, which becomes the main factor in making any decision that concerns them (keeping the child in his family environment at all costs: it’s over).
This is also the case for the sharing of confidential information, which will henceforth be permitted between the various partners involved in a child’s file.
A few words are needed here to talk about the results of the Minister for Health and Social Services, Lionel Carmant.
He sometimes looked like a deer dazzled by the headlights of an automobile when he entered politics. But after three years in office, he has already done a lot more for vulnerable children than many of his predecessors.
The bad news now?
On the ground, on the side of youth protection services, the situation remains appalling.
You may have seen the most recent figures: there are approximately 3,900 people awaiting assessment in Quebec. However, two years ago, when the girl from Granby died, there were 3,300.
The delays in accessing services are still problematic. And the number of reports – we reached 120,000 in Quebec last year, a (sad) record – has something to do with it.
So is the shortage of employees. There are still 590 worker positions to be filled out of some 12,000 in the provinces. An untenable situation.
And it is a vicious cycle that is terribly difficult to break. Because the fewer workers there are, the more difficult their work. And the more arduous their work, the more likely they are to leave the network quickly.
We are going to take the liberty here to reiterate to what extent these essential players in the network deserve our full recognition. Their dedication is prodigious.
But they need help. We need reinforcements.
Let us not forget either that all children’s services must be mobilized.
“It takes a whole village to raise a child. This proverb has been used extensively, yet it has not aged a bit. It makes perfect sense here.
A suggestion in closing: Minister Lionel Carmant would have every advantage in appointing a “responsible bearer who oversees the implementation and determines the stages of realization” of the recommendations of the Laurent commission, as suggested at the very end of his report. .
A ball carrier who could take the form, for example, of a recommendations follow-up committee.
The path has rarely been so well marked, it would be absurd to take your eyes off it.
To do justice to the girl from Granby, but also to ensure the protection of all vulnerable young people, let’s stay the course.