Child protection advocate takes centre stage
Continued calls for a child advocate for P.E.I. ended with a tense exchange in the legislature Wednesday in which Premier Wade MacLauchlan accused Opposition MLAs of pressing the issue out of selfinterest.
Green Leader Peter Bevan-Baker got the ball rolling. He used his one question and two follow-ups during question period to take the MacLauchlan government to task for “being stubborn in refusing” to appoint a child advocate for Prince Edward Island.
First, Bevan-Baker asked for the costs of setting up a child advocacy office.
He didn’t get an answer. Instead, MacLauchlan listed the alternative steps government has taken in place of appointing a child advocate, including establishing a children’s lawyer for custody cases, creating supervised access points for the transfer of children between parents for visitations and adopting the “bridge model” for high-risk cases. Bevan-Baker then went a step further, suggesting MacLauchlan is averse to independent oversight on this and several other issues.
“I’ve recently seen a troubling trend in government’s approach to meeting the needs (of Islanders), whether it’s the issue of the executive division of conflict of interest rules, the creation of a lobbyist registry, whistleblower policy or calls for a child advocate or an ombudsperson,” Bevan-Baker said. “Should not the values of transparency and accountability also include independent oversight?” MacLauchlan reiterated his oft-cited commitment to openness and transparency. But when it comes to a child advocate, his focus is on frontline services for children in high-risk family situations, he said. “Our view, and it was a view that was backed up by the child protection review, is that it’s more important to address the opportunities to provide frontline support and a wraparound co-ordinated service that speaks to the needs of children in need in this province, and that’s where we’re putting our priority.” Bevan-Baker then called on government to release all research and analysis, including costs, that led government to ultimately decide P.E.I. does not need a child advocate. That’s when MacLauchlan fired back, saying his government believes the public service is well equipped to protect children.
“I believe the Opposition is more concerned about themselves, because they don’t really expect to be in government and they just want somebody who is going to serve the Opposition.”
P.E.I. is the only province in Canada without a child advocate.