According to the statement, the Inuk child would have been placed in solitary confinement for extended periods, would not receive the necessary health care in a timely manner, which would have aggravated his situation. He was also reportedly forbidden to speak in his native language with other Inuit youths.
The investigation aims to verify whether the alleged facts are true and whether the rights of the child are respected. It also aims to ensure that measures are taken to ensure that the situation does not recur.
In late August, Montreal’s Native Women’s Shelter received an anonymous call. The person told him he works for a center in Batshaw and wanted to report a situation that would have happened to an Inuk child in April, according to Nakuset, the general manager of the house.
Batshaw Centers are responsible for the care of West Montreal English-speaking youth who are entrusted to them by the Youth Protection Department. They also welcome the Inuit youth of Nunavik, where the significant shortage of resources and services for the protection of young people leads to their relocation to Montreal.
The details were pretty awful
, says Nakuset in an interview with Indigenous Spaces. He was then on vacation and his assistant took the information that the child would be in solitary confinement, in a state of health that required treatment and would not be able to speak his language.
We dug deeper and got more detail
to chase after Nakuset.
She says she, along with the Center for Research-Action on Race Relations, informed the CDPDJ.
Nakuset struggles to contain his anger and complains of inaction.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Ivanoh Demers
In an email, Hélène Bergeron-Gamache from the communications department of the CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal, indicated that he did not want to comment on a specific case due to confidentiality rules.
He assured that the CIUSSS meant offer its full cooperation to the investigations of the Commission des droits de la jeunesse et des droits de la personne
remembering that their priority was provide an environment where Aborigines and people from cultural communities feel safe, at all levels
.
According to Hélène Bergeron-Gamache, no form of violence, discrimination or racism against the young people under our protection is tolerated. When allegations of such behavior are brought to our attention, we take them very seriously and take immediate steps to shed light on them.
.
Not a first time
It is not the first time that the CDPDJ investigates such a situation. Already in December 2019, the Commission had launched an own-initiative inquiry into the services granted in the field of youth protection to young Inuit who are hosted by the CIUSSS of the western island of Montreal.
In May 2021, a Commission investigation concluded that the rights of Inuit youth from Nunavik housed in a rehabilitation center in the Montreal region to the preservation of their culture and cultural life were not respected, as were the non-chronic rights respected. their right to education. In October 2017, the CDPDJ also launched a survey on Inuit youth hosted by the CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’île-de-Montréal.
It listed numerous complaints, including the prohibition of Aboriginal children and their mothers from communicating in their native language; the lack of access to educational services and the absence of culturally adequate operators, tools and interpreters.
A year ago, the Minister of Health and Social Services, Lionel Carmant, said he wanted to put Batshaw’s youth and family centers in order.
For Nakuset, Lionel Carmant’s will doesn’t change much from the young Inuk’s point of view. This guy is traumatized for life! How many are there in this situation?
he worried.
