Mom of Murdered Quebec Boys Seeking $2 Million Compensation Over Alleged Youth Protection Failures

Émilie Arsenault Valérie Assouline Youth Protection System quebec Youth Protection Service

By Joel Brussels , Parent Herald Apr 26, 11:43 am

Photo: (Photo : ANNE-SOPHIE THILL/AFP via Getty Images)

The mother of two dead boys whose father is accused of murdering them is seeking $2 million from the Quebec government, alleging that its youth protection services failed her family.

émilie Arsenault accused Quebec's youth protection service in a lawyer's letter dated Friday, April 22, of failing to act despite the agency being allegedly contacted three times prior to her children's deaths, according to a report by the CBC.

The letter, which was addressed to the regional authority responsible for youth protection and the Health Department, said that the provincial agency had been alerted by the mother, a hospital worker, and provincial police between May 2018 and January 2020.

Youth protection system failed Olivier and Alex

Valérie Assouline, the lawyer who is representing Arsenault, said that youth protection workers did not visit the family at home after any of those calls. She added that the protection service decided to close the files involving the family without taking further action. According to Assouline, the system needs to be held responsible for its failures.

Assouline told Coast Reporter in a phone interview on Monday that she don't think the kids should have to pay with their lives because the system was not working. The bodies of five-year-old Olivier and two-year-old Alex were found dead in a home in Wendake, Quebec, on Oct. 13, 2020. The residence is located in a Huron-Wendat First Nation territory near Quebec City.

The two boys' father, Michaël Chicoine, has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder. Because of the ongoing court process, the details involving what led to the calls to youth protection about the two kids are subject to a publication ban.

The boys' mother said in the letter that the "willful blindness of the entire system cost Olivier and Alex their lives" and also caused irreparable harm to both the kids and their mom. The Health Department declined to comment on Monday, citing the ongoing legal process.

Assouline represents other families in similar circumstances

Assouline is also representing other families in similar circumstances, including the mother of a seven-year-old girl from Granby, Quebec, whose death in 2019 triggered a widespread re-examination of the youth protection system in the province.

A 552-page report was released by a commission on children's rights and youth protection last May according to CTV News, with the findings showing that her death was a collective failure of Quebec society.

Assouline pinned the blame on junior health minister Lionel Carmant, saying he was "very aware" of the problems in the youth protection system, but still did not act quickly enough. Assouline pointed out the lack of training of the case workers, saying Carmant was aware of the delays that were unreasonable and he had to act immediately.

Assouline said she recognizes that the $2 million her client is asking for is a higher amount than is usually demanded in such cases, but she said an "exemplary" judgment is needed to ensure that a similar situation never happens again. She added that Arsenault is well aware that no amount of money can bring back her kids.