December 8th, 2021

Ford must fix racism, inequity in education for incarcerated youth: NDP

QUEEN'S PARK — NDP Youth Opportunities critic Faisal Hassan (York South—Weston) urged the Ford government to ensure young people in custody are given opportunities to pursue an education, following a Canadian Civil Liberties Association report that finds many youth in detention are denied access to formal education.

"Education should not be a luxury for young people in detention, but a right and a responsibility, the same as it is for every young person in the province, as well as a necessary pathway for rehabilitation and the ability to build a full life after incarceration," Hassan said.

Ontario school boards are not obligated by law to provide education to youth in custody, leading to significant disparities in the quality and quantity of formal education among youth detention centres.

"The CCLA's troubling finding that 'some facilities trea[t] youth as security threats to be managed, rather than students deserving of rehabilitation through educational opportunities,' and that the former is disproportionately true for Black youth, is a serious problem the Ford government must no longer ignore," Hassan said.

"The government must stop denying opportunities to youth in custody and address the glaring issues of systemic racism within our youth detention system," Hassan said. "Ford needs to implement the CCLA recommendations and make it mandatory in every juvenile detention centre in Ontario to provide formal, quality education to young people."