The Minister for Health and Social Services, Lionel Carmant, who presented Bill 15 on Wednesday, proposes an expected reform of the Youth Protection Act which implements the main recommendation of the Special Commission on children’s rights and youth protection: placing the best interests of the child above all else, above all before the claims of biological parents.
More than twenty years after the report A Quebec mad about its children, the Caquista government intends to correct an ambiguity with sometimes dramatic consequences. The current law provides in article 3 that decisions must be taken in the best interests of the child, but in article 4 it states that any decision “must aim to keep the child in his family environment”.
With the reform, the best interests of the child will become “a primary consideration” in the application of the Act, while any decision must “aim at the continuity of care as well as the stability of a child’s bonds” . These references – continuity and stability – are new. This was another recommendation from the commission chaired by Régine Laurent.
Prime Minister François Legault indicated that it was necessary “to stop spotting children from one foster family to another, to impose the return of the child to his natural family when there are risks for the child ”. Bill 15 seeks to achieve this goal.
The role of parents remains “complete”, however, specified Minister Carmant. Thus, the maintenance of the child in his family environment “must be privileged”, stipulates the bill, on condition “that it is in the interest of this child”. The maximum periods during which the child can be entrusted to surrogate parents remain the same, i.e. 12 months if the child is less than two years old, 18 months if he is two to five years old. years and 24 months if he is six years of age or older. But we must understand that these maximum durations will be applied strictly, as recommended by the Laurent commission, and that when they expire, an irrevocable decision will be taken for their placement if the parents are still not able to take care of them.
At the end of March, the Caquista government appointed Catherine Lemay as national director of youth protection. The bill creates the legal basis for this position, the creation of which was proposed by the Laurent commission. Lionel Carmant did not want to unravel the Barrette reform: the regional youth protection directorates do not regain their autonomy and still come under the CIUSSS and CISSS. But each of the directors will report directly to the president and CEO of the mega-structure. We will see if this is sufficient so that the DYP is no longer a neglected service of a hospital-centric system.
The reform also affects youth protection services for Aboriginals. It was, moreover, a recommendation from the Viens commission on relations between Aboriginals and certain public services, a recommendation taken up by the Laurent commission. Without submitting to the control that the federal government seeks to exercise through Bill C-92 in this area of Quebec jurisdiction, Bill 15 recognizes that Indigenous communities are best placed to take care of their own. children. We want to promote the “cultural continuity” of Aboriginal children and take into account “their own historical, social and cultural factors”. Provision is made for the possibility of forming family councils and carrying out indigenous customary guardianship and adoption. The bill makes it possible to generalize agreements, such as those entered into between Atikamekw bands and the Quebec government, aimed at the communities taking charge of youth protection services. It is a sign that the Legault government is starting to take the Aboriginal issue seriously.
Obviously, Bill 15 cannot solve everything. Since the pandemic, the number of reports to the DPJ has increased. It went from 2,000 to 3,000 per week, the minister said. The waiting list for an assessment after a report continues to grow. She now has 3,888 children, 626 more than a month ago. The remuneration of the employees of the DPJ has been raised, but if the recruitment of young professionals is going well, according to the minister, the departures among the experienced staff are increasing. Lionel Carmant seems to know where he is going, but he is not out of the inn yet.