Troubling silence

It’s disturbing enough that five detainees at the new Ge-Da-Gi-Binez Youth Centre here assaulted two staff members last week. But equally troubling is the fact it took so long for “news” of the incident to be released to the public.
True, the general public may not have been at risk by the Wednesday evening altercation in the recreation yard, but clearly it was serious enough that one of the staff members was left needing medical attention and the Fort Frances OPP had to be called in for help. The situation also warranted having the OPP escort the detainees (six in all) to the young offenders’ facility in Thunder Bay.
In other words, the $13.2-million facility, which only opened its doors on March 23, has been sitting empty for a week while the Ministry of Children and Youth Services and Pwi-Di-Goo-Zing Ne-Yaa-Zhing Advisory Services, which operates the centre, figure out how this happened (and presumably what steps need to be taken so it doesn’t occur again) before youths are allowed to be returned there.
Incredibly, though, it took almost five full days for the police to issue an 11-line press release, headlined “OPP respond to call for assistance at young offender facility,” which was faxed to the Times around 5:15 p.m. on Monday.
With the local rumour mill in full swing over the weekend, the Times had contacted the local detachment Monday morning but it released no information, instead referring all questions to Ge-Da-Gi-Binez. No one answered the phone at the youth centre and an earlier call to Pwi-Di-Goo-Zing Ne-Yaa-Zhing was not returned.
It took a Ministry of Children and Youth Services spokeswoman in Toronto, finally reached late Monday morning, to confirm the incident had taken place and provide a few details.
That’s simply unacceptable.
Pwi-Di-Goo-Zing Ne-Yaa-Zhing said this morning the “situation was blown out of proportion.” Maybe so. What cannot be allowed to be brushed off, however, was the obvious (dare we say deliberate?) lack of information conveyed to the public. Too many questions remain unanswered a week later, both regarding the incident itself and what the future holds.
Taxpayers’ money built this facility, operates it, and pays the staff there. As such, the public has a right to timely information to know proper decisions and practices are being taken, as well as to allay any possible concerns or at the very least separate fact from rumour.
That accountability was a dismal failure in this instance and must not be repeated.