By Canadian Press

Quebec rights body probes case of Inuk teen allegedly put in isolation, denied care

Oct 13, 2022 | 11:41 AM

MONTREAL — Quebec’s youth rights commission is investigating the case of an Inuk teenager who was allegedly placed in isolation at a Montreal-area rehabilitation centre while in pain and in need of medical care.

The commission said in a recent news release that the minor was allegedly placed in isolation for prolonged periods, which caused his condition to worsen due to the delay in access to care.

The director of the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal says she was approached in August by a person who denounced the teen boy’s treatment at the Batshaw Youth and Family Centres facility in Prévost, Que., northwest of Montreal.

Nakuset, who uses one name and who has since heard the youth’s account first-hand, says the teen woke up one night in April in excruciating pain and tried to ask workers at the facility for help.

Nakuset says that after he was given an over-the-counter painkiller, the teen’s pain worsened to the point where he began banging on the wall and asking for an ambulance.

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She says the youth was instead allegedly placed in isolation for several hours, until he was eventually brought to hospital where he required emergency surgery.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 13, 2022.

Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press