The APTS offers its full cooperation with the investigation carried out by Québec’s Human Rights and Youth Rights Commission

February 21, 2024

Longueuil – As Québec’s Human Rights and Youth Rights Commission (CDPDJ) launches an investigation into the impact of wait times for children who need to be assessed and to receive services from the Director of Youth Protection (DPJ), the APTS (Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé et des services sociaux) has announced that it is willing to participate fully and actively in the Commission’s work in order to help it gather information.

“We offered the Commission our help last week,” said APTS president Robert Comeau. “The APTS represents youth protection workers throughout Québec, and for us, improving the well-being of the children and teenagers who receive services from our members is a priority. I’m convinced we’ll be able to provide the Commission with highly relevant information thanks to our access to youth workers, our knowledge of the situations they tell us about, and the documents that are sent to us.”

Getting a more accurate picture

On February 15, social services minister Lionel Carmant “congratulated himself” on the improvement of some wait list results compared to those for the previous year.

“We can only express our surprise at Minister Carmant’s optimistic portrayal of the situation,” said Sébastien Pitre, APTS officer in charge of youth protection. “Let’s not forget that youth workers are the ones who achieved these reduced wait lists by the sweat of their brows. Their workloads are excessively large, and they’ve been risking their physical and psychological health to achieve these results. We’re confident that the the results of the CDPDJ inquiry will give us a much more accurate picture of what’s going on.”

The APTS has been arguing for years that difficult working conditions in the health and social services system are one of the main reasons for the labour shortage. While the proposed collective agreement on which APTS members are currently being asked to vote does include a number of gains, major efforts are still required to put an end to the crisis in the public system.

“The labour shortage is undermining services provided to all Quebecers, and services to children and young people are no exception,” said Robert Comeau. “Wait lists in youth protection are just the tip of the iceberg. As a society, we must do whatever is needed to reestablish the value of jobs in our public sector and attract new employees.”

The APTS

The APTS (Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé et des services sociaux) represents more than 65,000 members who play a key role in ensuring that health and social services institutions run smoothly. Our members provide a wide range of services for all Quebecers, including diagnostic, rehabilitation, nutrition, psychosocial intervention, clinical support, and prevention services.