MOOSE JAW — The Government of Canada is investing more than $470,000 over two years to support the opening of the Moose Jaw Little Oak Child and Youth Justice Centre and to expand the Victim Services Responder program.
The new CYAC, which receives funding from Justice Canada’s Victims Fund, provides a comfortable and safe child-friendly environment for children and youth who are victims of abuse and helps them and their families navigate the various systems they encounter with the support of a collaborative and coordinated multi-disciplinary team.
These investments are in partnership with the provincial government.
The announcement was made Tuesday by the Honourable Buckley Belanger, Secretary of State (Rural Development), on behalf of the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, alongside the Honourable Tim McLeod, K.C., Saskatchewan’s Minister of Justice and Attorney General and Minister of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety. The Secretary of State also toured the newly opened CYAC in Moose Jaw with Minister McLeod and representatives from the Moose Jaw Police Service.
“Every child deserves to feel safe, supported, and heard,” said Belanger. “Our new government is investing in the Moose Jaw Little Oak Child and Youth Justice Centre and expanding the Victim Services Responder program to help ensure that young people in Saskatchewan who have experienced trauma are met with compassion and the resources they need to heal.”
This is the third centre that the federal and provincial governments are supporting in Saskatchewan, with CYACs also in Regina and Saskatoon. A fourth CYAC in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan is in operation. However, it is not funded through Justice Canada’s CAC/CYAC Initiative.
