NDP pushes Houston government on lack of safeguards for children, unacceptable delays for advocate

HALIFAX – Today at Public Accounts Committee, New Democrats pressed the Houston government about conditions for children in care and their years-long delay in appointing a Child and Youth Advocate.

Since New Democrats first introduced legislation to create a Child and Youth Advocate in 2018, more than 640 youth have aged out of the child welfare system without having the support and oversight an independent advocate can provide.

“Young people in the care of the province are saying that they don’t feel safe or have anywhere to turn. The Houston government has left vulnerable kids in unlivable situations for years, and there’s absolutely no excuse,” said Lisa Lachance, MLA for Halifax Citadel-Sable Island. “As a parent, it’s hard to imagine a child feeling safer on the street than in the care of the province – but that’s the reality some young people have described. These are vulnerable children who have been left without someone to turn to when the system failed them, and it’s past time for this government to take action.”

Recent reporting from the CBC highlighted serious concerns about the safety of children in the province’s care, including hundreds of incidents of young people running away from group homes, and reports of girls in care being targeted for human trafficking.

Kayla Bernard, a former youth in care who now works to support young people as a recreational therapist and Indigenous adviser, knows firsthand how important it is for a young person to have someone in their corner.

“As a young Indigenous person, I remember feeling like I didn’t matter to anybody and nobody knew what to do with me. I went through some of the most difficult years of my life without the support every young person deserves,” said Bernard. “Young people in vulnerable situations need all the help they can get. They need people who will listen to them, believe them, and stand beside them when there is nowhere else to turn. We need to be doing everything we can to make sure none of them feel like they have to face these challenges alone.”

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