“How much more is Minister Cadieux going to cut on her way to improving services for vulnerable children and youth,” asks BCGEU president Darryl Walker. Walker’s comment comes following today’s announcement that the provincial government will close the Victoria Youth Custody Centre.

“This is a shortsighted decision that will make it more difficult for troubled youth to get the help they need,” says Walker. “I also call on the Minister to explain what will happen to the $4.5 million she says will be saved with the closure. Will that money be redirected to services for troubled youth or will it be used to balance the Liberal budget?”

The surprise announcement comes after repeated government assurances in recent months that the centre would remain open as other options were explored. “Our members were committed to working with the Ministry to explore new uses for the centre that would address the government’s concerns around over-capacity,” says Walker.  “When we met recently with Minister Cadieux we discussed other uses for the centre. Closing it was never mentioned as an option.”

The BCGEU is concerned that other options were not considered, including:

• exploring alternative capacity uses for the centre;
• reaching out in the community to explore options and to seek support; and
• exploring repatriation of housing youth females at both Victoria Youth Custody Centre & Prince George Youth Custody Centre.

The BCGEU is also troubled by the timing of the decision which saw the media informed of the closure before the workers at the centre were advised.

“In a province as big as B.C., a youth custody centre in Metro Vancouver and another in Prince George is simply not adequate to meet the needs of troubled young people or to keep our streets safe,” adds Walker. “We need more of these facilities and services, not fewer.”