An investigation by The Gazette’s Jack Wilson this summer revealed a disturbing truth about Montreal’s anglophone youth protection agency.

In March 2026, in the span of just a few weeks, three children died while under the care of Batshaw Youth and Family Centres: a four-year-old girl, a 17-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl. Two of those children were on wait-lists for home visits from social workers, according to employees. 

Sources described an environment where chronic staff shortages, inconsistent oversight and poor communication created fractures in Batshaw’s operations. Multiple workers who spoke to The Gazette said the agency frequently closes and discards files of children believed to be at risk without assigning a worker to visit their home (Batshaw did not respond to this allegation).

Photo: John Mahoney/Montreal Gazette

The report prompted outcry in the National Assembly, with opposition parties pointing to underfunding by the Coalition Avenir Québec government and demanding action.

Responding to the backlash, Quebec’s national director of youth protection said changes had been implemented at Batshaw in the wake of the three deaths. Nevertheless, shortly after The Gazette’s story was published, Santé Québec ordered an inquiry into the bureau that oversees the youth protection agency.

The results of that inquiry are not yet known — but The Gazette will be there when the time comes.

It’s our duty to hold institutions like Batshaw and its governing bodies accountable — especially when these institutions are charged with caring for society’s most vulnerable. Missteps in this area can have dark consequences, and bringing them to light is often the first step in generating meaningful change.

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