Judith Lavoie

p. C11.

Bill to lock up high-risk youth to be delayed

A new law giving the province the power to lock up high-risk young people will probably not come into effect for six to 10 months, said Children and Families Minister Gretchen Brewin, who introduced the legislation Monday.

The bill is aimed at young people involved in prostitution or addicted to drugs.

Once the new law is in place, in emergency situations, the director of secure care will be able to order a young person who is at risk of serious harm to be kept in secure care for 72 hours.

At the request of a parent or guardian a board can then consider whether the youth should be detained for 30 days while assessments are done and treatment organized.

In exceptional cases the board could then extend the detention twice more.

"There are still going to be discussions and lots of consultations around the development of regulations," Brewin said.

Information and Privacy Commissioner David Loukidelis said there must be changes to the bill to allow it to be covered by the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

Otherwise the new act and the ministry are effectively excluded from public scrutiny, Loukidelis said.