The Nova Scotia government says progress is being made on the long-awaited child and youth advocate, but opposition parties and advocates say the issue does not seem like a priority for the province.
The PC government has promised to create an independent office for a child and youth advocate since 2021, and brought in legislation to enable the role last year.
Scott Armstrong, opportunities and social development minister, told reporters after a cabinet meeting in Halifax on Thursday that staff were working on regulations for the office and hoped to have more information relatively soon.
When asked about a timeline for the office, Armstrong said he could not say exactly when it would open. But he said he was personally committed “to be the one that actually stands this up.”
“I’m working hard with staff to make sure that we’re moving things along as quickly as possible. But I’m also committed to making sure that we do it right,” Armstrong said.
Alec Stratford, executive director of the Nova Scotia College of Social Workers, said it is crucial that the advocate is immediately put in place, and that it should have been done decades ago.
The role would allow children and youth to have a political voice that can influence policy and action, Stratford said, on pressing Nova Scotia issues that include child poverty, inclusive education, violence toward 2SLGBTQ+ youth, and the child welfare system.
Stratford said the province could have simply tweaked the framework from Prince Edward Island, which was the most recent province to create the office in 2020, to make sure unique communities like African Nova Scotians are considered.
“When the premier in particular wants something achieved, and wants it achieved quickly, things happen in a way that is expedient. We’ve not seen that happen with this office,” Stratford said Friday.
Stratford said dozens of historical sex charges recently laid against a former swim instructor at the youth correctional centre in Waterville, N.S., highlights the need for such an office.
The advocate could have “raised more public discourse” around the case and the lengthy timeline of the investigation, Stratford said.
The Nova Scotia RCMP have said their investigation started in 2018, and in 2023 the Mounties confirmed they were investigating at least 70 cases of alleged sexual assault at the centre.
NDP Leader Claudia Chender said the Waterville case is “horrific” and she has heard complaints about institutions across the province.
“We have vulnerable children in this province who need this office to be stood up. And I think it’s an embarrassment that the government has failed to do that,” Chender told reporters Thursday.
Interim Liberal Leader Derek Mombourquette also said the advocate cannot come soon enough, and the provincial government should “get to work and get it done.”
Nova Scotia is the only province, besides Ontario, without an independent child and youth advocate.
