SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

Laura Smith

  • MPP
  • Member of Provincial Parliament
  • Thornhill
  • Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
  • Ontario
  • Centre Street Square Unit 4 1136 Centre St. Thornhill, ON L4J 3M8
  • tel: 905-731-1178
  • fax: tre Street Sq
  • Laura.Smith@pc.ola.org

  • Government Page
  • Apr/24/24 4:30:00 p.m.

Thank you, and through you, Speaker, I was just going to add that the measures contained in the Supporting Children’s Futures Act would, if passed, create a safer environment for every child out of home care. We won’t get into the specifics of profit or not-for-profit. It helps every child.

I was going to talk about the Ontario Ombudsman. It’s an important safeguard that provides rights to children of youth in care. Young people in care already have the right to contact the office of the Ombudsman; however, that’s contained in the Ombudsman Act rather than the Child, Youth and Family Services Act. And since children’s aid societies and service providers are governed by and most familiar with the CYFSA, the status quo leaves a potential gap where a youth may not even be aware of their rights.

This bill proposes to entrench details about this right and remove any lack of clarity for the rights with respect to the Ombudsman. Does the member opposite not support giving young people a stronger understanding of this right to the Ombudsman?

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