Laval group home locks doors after string of runaways

The Laval group home linked to a string of runaways is now keeping its doors locked 24 hours a day.

Prior to the disappearances, all doors at the Centre Jeunesse de Laval were left unlocked in accordance with a 2007 regulation.

The change was reported Thursday by a parent of one of the girls who ran away from the home and was later confirmed by Lucie Charlebois, Quebec's minister responsible for youth protection.

Charlebois said the director of the region's health administration ordered the doors be locked after the recent string of runaways.

"It's a special moment over there for the young people so they want to keep them calm," she said.

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Charlebois said a legal opinion from the justice department indicated that the decision by the centre to lock its doors does not violate any law.

She said the measure is reviewed twice a day and residents can leave if they have the authorization to do so.

The government announced this week that an auditor has been sent to the centre to oversee whether safety protocols are being followed.

Five girls staying at the centre have run away since late last month. A 17-year-old is still missing, while the others have been found.

Locked 24 hours

Another parent told CBC Montreal that the doors are now locked 24 hours a day as of Wednesday.

Residents can still leave if they have permission — "it's not a prison," Josée Chaput said, but added that it's not as easy as it was. 

"They had to do something quick to stop these girls running away one after the other. They did what they could do quickly and I'm satisfied with this," she said.

While the measure is welcome, Chaput said much more has to be done, including improved access to health care and counseling.

"All the girls need psychologists, and this is very tough to get," she said.

'A temporary fix'

Pina Arcamone, the executive director of the Missing Children's Network, welcomed the move to lock the doors, but also warned it wasn't a permanent solution.  

"It's still a temporary fix for us," Arcamone told CBC Montreal's Homerun.

"But it allows the center to gain some kind of control over their activities while they look into putting [in place] perhaps other measures as well."

A longer-term solution would require examining the factors that lead children to run away in the first place, she said. This includes getting a better sense of where they are going when they leave.

"Some of the girls who went missing last week unfortunately were lured by gang members and may have been exposed to sexual exploitation," Arcamone said.  

She called for more resources to be allocated to law enforcement officers and social workers, as well as for better sex education in Quebec schools.

'Imminent danger'

Julie Perron-Hamilton, a spokesperson for the union that represents workers at the group home, said Thursday the doors have been locked since Sunday.

In an interview last week with CBC Montreal, Perron-Hamilton said the doors can only be locked if there's proof residents face "imminent danger" upon leaving.

"We don't have legal rights to hold them against their will," she said. "If we don't have proof that they're in danger, there's absolutely nothing we can do."