New head of Quebec’s youth services vows to be ‘watchdog’ for children

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Leslie Hill, the newly appointed head of Quebec’s increasingly under attack Department of Youth Protection (DPJ), vowed Thursday to be a “watchdog” for the province’s children, adding that she is willing to do whatever it takes to get to the bottom of the apparent dysfunction. pursued by the agency.

“We’re going to be shining a lot of light in our house, in all the closets, in all the rooms of the house, and we’re going to find cobwebs and we’re going to clear them out,” Hill told reporters during her first news conference in her new role. . She was accompanied by Social Services Minister Lionel Carmant.

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Hill’s predecessor, Catherine LeMay, resigned on Monday after Carman publicly asked her to do so and after a series of scandals rocked the DPJ. Hill was appointed to the position Wednesday.

Hill is a former member of the Laurent Commission that examined the state of the DPJ following the tragic death of a seven-year-old girl in Granby in 2019.

“I have nothing to lose,” Hill told reporters, explaining that she came out of retirement to take the job. “It’s a bit brave of the government to give a girl like me a job like this because I have a responsibility to speak out.

“I’m not shy about saying what I want to say.”

Hill said she would have the necessary independence, although in her role as national director and assistant deputy minister she would report to the minister.

She said that, like other Quebecers, she “fell off my chair” at the news detailing the scale of problems within the DPJ, noting that employees in the system are required by law to report unacceptable situations.

“Next week I will send a directive. We want people to talk about unbearable situations. “I will speak to the Ombudsman as quickly as possible because we need to protect people who report abuse.”

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Reports last week said female instructors at a Montreal youth detention center were engaging in sexual relationships with underage inmates. La Presse, which originally reported the story, subsequently said similar abuses had occurred at centers in Laval and Montérégie.

News of the incidents coincides with a decision to place the DPJ’s youth protection office in Mauricie-Centre-du-Quebec under trusteeship after questions were raised about how adoption cases were handled.

Hill made her comments hours after Solidaire Quebec joined the voice of the Quebec Liberal Party in calling for Carmant’s resignation.

QS MNA Guillaume Cliche-Rivard said on Thursday Carmant was unfit to manage the portfolio and called for him to resign. He said that out of respect for Carman, he informed the minister of what he intended to announce.

“Mr. Carmant did not show the necessary urgency this week. I did not feel that he was sufficiently shocked (by events),” Cliche-Rivard told reporters at the National Assembly.

On Tuesday, the Liberals called for Carman’s resignation. Quebec Premier Francois Legault responded that he had “full confidence” in his “friend.”

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Meanwhile, the number of scandals continues to grow. La Presse reported on Thursday that Estrie DPJ wanted to separate the two-year-old triplets in order to adopt them, even though their biological mother could take care of them.

Asked earlier this week about the crisis in the DPJ, Legault lamented “explosive demand” due to “the pandemic, drugs and a surge in temporary immigrants.”

Carmant repeated his remarks on Wednesday and on Thursday was forced to admit that the government did not have data on the number of immigrants reported by the DPJ.

“We don’t have any numbers,” he admitted, “but everywhere I go in Quebec people tell me there are still a lot of reports of new arrivals.”

In response to the question, Hill said: “I wouldn’t make a direct connection, but on the other hand, I would say that there are populations that are clearly overrepresented in youth protection. This has been going on for many years. We can think about Black Indigenous children.”

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