Region to lose Pineger Youth Centre in Kirkland Lake on April 30 SHARE ON: (pixabay.com)
A change to federal legislation in the mid-2000s has led to 26 secure custody youth detention centres across Ontario being closed by the province.
The one that serves our region most directly is the Youth Centre in Kirkland Lake, operated by Northeastern Ontario Family and Children’s Services.
NEOFACS executive director John Raymond says there’s been a steady decline in occupancy. “There are fewer young people being sent to custody than before, under the Young Offenders Act,” he explains. “So the new legislation is the Youth Criminal Justice Act.”