Child Protection Act recommendations should've included child advocate, opposition says

P.E.I.'s Official Opposition is expressing "extreme disappointment" that the need for a child advocate is not among the 66 recommendations in a review of P.E.I.'s Child Protection Act.

P.E.I. is the only province with without an independent child advocate. Island Progressive Conservatives have repeated lobbied the government to implement the position, and hoped it would finally be addressed in the review released Wednesday.

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"My immediate response is extreme disappointment," said PC health critic James Aylward. "I still stand very strong that Prince Edward Island requires a child advocate to be there to protect the interests of the most vulnerable, our children."

Aylward said it's important to have a child advocate who is independent from government and does not answer to a particular minister or department.

"What we see right now, there's still silos with regards to whether it's family services, education, justice, health," he said. "A child advocate would be there to insure the policies are in place, the protocols are in place to make sure our children are protected."

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'A complex issue'

Patsy MacLean, chair of the 10-member committee that made the recommendations, said they spoke with Islanders about the need for a child advocate and felt their concerns could be better met through a variety of mechanisms.

"Child protection is a very complex issue and I don't think there's one answer to improving child protection in this province," she said.

"I think that it would be a very simplistic view, and I would be very worried if we said in Prince Edward Island 'we've put a child advocate in place so everything is OK.'"

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