After being refused access a few weeks ago, the solidarity MP for Sherbrooke, Christine Labrie, will finally visit the Rehabilitation Center for young people with adjustment difficulties Val-du-Lac, on May 6, in company of the Minister of Social Services, Lionel Carmant.
The information was confirmed at The Canadian Press by the minister’s office.
Christine Labrie and Lionel Carmant will be accompanied by two elected CAQ members from the Estrie region, Geneviève Hébert (Saint-François) and André Bachand (Richmond).
Elected officials will also meet the managers and stakeholders of the center.
The national director of youth protection, Catherine Lemay, as well as the CIUSSS-Estrie teams will also be present.
To ensure that the identity of young people at the center is protected, they will not be present during the visit.
On March 19, a mutiny broke out at the Val-Du-Lac Youth Center and four teenagers were arrested. A few days later, Mme Labrie was refused a request to visit the center by the CIUSSS-Estrie.
The objective of the May visit is to see if the measures requested by Minister Carmant have been put in place and if there have been positive changes since.
Last month, Mme Labrie has also tabled a bill aimed at facilitating access for elected officials to public establishments, arguing that she had never managed to visit the Estrie Youth Center.
Questioned on the subject, Lionel Carmant said that an MP had the right to visit public establishments in his constituency, but that the issues of security and confidentiality surrounding young people should not be avoided.
“We agree that MPs should be able to see the resources of their constituency, especially those that are of a social nature. We recognize the role of deputies in controlling government action, but not at the cost of confidentiality and the protection of our young people,” said Minister Carmant’s press secretary, Lambert Drainville, at The Canadian PressTHURSDAY.