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Families in the public gallery of the P.E.I. Legislature cried and embraced each other Tuesday as MLAs stood up one after another and unanimously supported a bill to bring runaway children home.
That emotion carried out into the halls, as Liberal MLA Carolyn Simpson celebrated and met with families who’ve been calling for this legislation.
“I felt so overwhelmed for the families, for the children,” Simpson said, holding back tears.
“We will protect children from dangers and harms with this [bill] in the future. We still have work to do behind the scenes to get there, but children on P.E.I. … will be safer.”
The bill has passed, but has not yet been proclaimed into law. It is an amendment to the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, and it gives police and child protection workers the authority to bring runaway children back to a safe home — whether that’s with a parent, grandparents, guardian or otherwise.
Authorities will be able to do that by warrant, or without if the child is in immediate danger.
CBC News spoke to a parent last week as the bill was being debated. One said her child fell in with the wrong crowd, was skipping school and left home.
Another parent appeared before the Legislative Assembly and described to MLAs how their child refused to come home, was getting into trouble and with much older youths she said were grooming him.
WATCH | P.E.I. mom, MLA push province to make it easier to bring child runaways back home:
P.E.I. mom, MLA push province to make it easier to bring child runaways back home
A legislation change proposed by Liberal MLA Carolyn Simpson would allow authorities to get a warrant to bring kids who run away and are at risk back home. A mom whose teenager fell in with the wrong crowd and left home for “days on end” knows why the change is necessary. CBC’s Steve Bruce has more.
Simpson said the stories of these families were heartbreaking, and the “horrors” of what parents and children are going through is what made this bill necessary.
This bill doesn’t stop children from leaving their home, Simpson said, but it does give authorities the early intervention needed to keep children home to try and prevent a child’s downward spiral.
She said this legislation will not put a child in danger who has left an unsafe home. If a child discloses they do not feel safe, she said, child protective services will step in and help them.
Overall, she said, the families in the gallery who’d been waiting for this moment are celebrating.
“It’s very powerful to know that you were part of something small that will help save a child down the road,” Simpson said.
“Just to know that is just the most rewarding feeling there is.”
