Quebec Premier François Legault speaks to the media on Aug. 23, at the legislature in Quebec City.FRANCIS VACHON/The Canadian Press
Wait times for child-protection hearings in Quebec have nearly doubled in length over the past five years, according to government data – a development experts and advocates say could further jeopardize the well-being of vulnerable young people.
Between 2018 and August, 2023, the average wait for a child-protection hearing in the province grew from 59 days to 105, according to data from the Quebec Ministry of Justice, obtained by The Globe and Mail through an access to information request. The number of cases also rose, from about 9,000 in the 2018-19 fiscal year to slightly more than 10,500 in 2022-23.
The increases were much steeper in some regions. In Shawinigan, where the caseload nearly doubled, average wait times skyrocketed from five to 118 days. In Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce, waits increased tenfold, from 16 to 160 days. Rivière-du-Loup also had a tenfold increase, from five to 51.
The numbers point to an unsettling reality for young people who find themselves swept up in the province’s child-protection system, which exists to defend them against abuse and neglect. Authorities can place children in foster care immediately after they find out that abuse may be occurring, but a child’s life may remain in upheaval until they have had a hearing, which is the start of a formal court process where a judge determines the facts of a case and decides on further temporary or permanent remedies.
Quebec’s Human Rights and Youth Rights Commission, which can intervene on behalf of victims in youth protection cases, said it was “very worried” by the “alarming increases in hearing delays” uncovered by The Globe.
Vulnerable children “should not have to endure these delays depriving them of stabilizing their situation and receiving services,” commission spokesperson Halimatou Bah wrote in an e-mail. “The impact on their emotional well-being, their development and their stability can be significant.”
Johanne Clouet, a professor of family law and human rights law at the University of Montreal, said judicial delays “will necessarily affect” vulnerable children’s lives as they wait for decisions on issues such as where, and with whom, they will permanently live.
Wait times are calculated starting when “all parties are ready to appear before the judge,” Marie-Claude Daraiche, a lawyer for the Ministry of Justice’s access to information department, said in an e-mail. When exactly this happens “varies from one file to another,” she added.
This means the numbers do not account for any time between when child-protection authorities are told of a problematic situation and when a case is ready to be heard. Recent court decisions show that this period can last for weeks.
In one instance last year, a local director of youth protection was repeatedly notified in September and October that a six-year-old child was being subjected to psychological and physical abuse by his caretakers. Staff met with the child in late November, nearly two months after the first warning, and he was immediately put into foster care.
But hearings in the case had to wait until May and June of this year. The local director told the court that the delay between the initial report and the November meeting had been caused by chronic staff shortages, which had led to a backlog of hundreds of cases awaiting evaluations.
In a written decision this summer, Justice Marie Archambault of the Court of Quebec found that this delay was “clearly unreasonable.”
“The rights of the child to receive adequate services, in a timely manner and with diligence to ensure his protection and put an end to the situation which compromises his security or his development, have been violated,” Justice Archambault wrote.
Ministry of Justice spokesperson Isabelle Boily said in a statement that “cases in which the safety or health of a child is at stake are treated as a priority, and urgently.”
Ms. Boily said the increase in wait times over the past five years has been caused in part by growth in the number and complexity of cases. She said measures had been taken to deal with the backlog, including the addition of eight Court of Quebec youth chamber judges since 2022, and the creation of dedicated court days for youth protection cases.
She also pointed to a pilot program that offers free mediation services in some regions, to keep some cases out of court.
The province’s Special Commission on the Rights of the Child and Youth Protection, chaired by Régine Laurent, a nurse and former union leader, concluded in a 2021 report that Quebec’s courts were overloaded and facing lengthening delays.
The Laurent commission found that an increasing tendency to take youth protection cases to court has plagued the system since the mid-1990s, even though provincial legislation aims to prioritize social interventions and voluntary compliance over court orders.
“The judicial system is no longer up to the task, and creates unacceptable delays for children,” who must endure long waits for court-mandated interventions, the report says. It recommends that mediation be used more often, to alleviate pressure on the courts.
But since then, delays have only worsened, the data show.
Francis Martel, a spokesperson for Quebec’s Ministry of Health and Social Services, which oversees local youth protection directors, said in a statement that staff can “apply immediate protective measures at any time to ensure the safety of a child.”
Mr. Martel added that “time is of capital importance for children’s development,” and that Quebec is currently studying “the socio-judicial trajectory of children taken into care under the Youth Protection Act.” A report is expected in 2024.