The arrest of a 75-year-old man, who is now facing dozens of charges related to sex crimes at a provincial corrections facility, is raising questions about why Nova Scotia still doesn’t have an advocate in place to protect at-risk youth.
The charges against Donald Douglas Williams are related to alleged sex crimes against 30 youths at the Nova Scotia Youth Centre in Waterville, N.S. between 1989 and 2015, according to RCMP.
Williams was a swim instructor at the centre between 1988 and 2017, and all of the alleged crimes took place at the facility.
The news is reigniting calls for an independent youth advocate office to be established by the provincial government.
“We have vulnerable children in this province who need this office to be stood up and I think it’s an embarrassment that the government has failed to do that,” said NDP Leader Claudia Chender, leader of Nova Scotia’s official Opposition.
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In March 2024, the groundwork to establish the office was made as part of the Financial Measures Act to amend 15 bills and introduce two new acts.
However, details about this office are still up in the air.
“It can’t happen soon enough,” said interim Liberal Leader Derek Mombourquette.
“This is something that the premier campaigned on to become government. It’s something that he has promised and they should get to work and get it done.”
In response, Opportunities and Social Development Minister Scott Armstrong said Thursday that staff are working on creating the office, and have already completed jurisdictional reviews of other offices across the country.
“Currently our staff are working on the regulations. It’s something I’m personally committed to as a minister. I think this will be a huge advantage and benefit to children across Nova Scotia,” he said.
“I want to make sure that what we build here is a truly effective and actually has impactful supports for children.”
Robert Wright, a criminology professor at Saint Mary’s University and a social worker, said he hasn’t seen a lot of political will to move forward with the plan.
Wright, who is a former executive director of the province’s Child and Youth Strategy, said a youth advocate office would have an important role.
“To be building relationships with young people who are in these kinds of spaces to ensure that they not just are checked up on, but have strong and supportive relationships,” he said.
In the Waterville centre’s case, RCMP said the accusers are 29 boys and one girl. All of them were between the ages of 12 and 18 when they were being held at the centre.
The investigation into the complaints of historical sexual assaults at the centre began in 2018, and was known as Operation Headwind.
In July 2023, the Mounties confirmed they were investigating at least 70 cases of alleged sexual assault at the centre.
Investigators were dispatched across Canada to interview 450 survivors and witnesses, and they reviewed more than 9,800 documents.
There is also a class action lawsuit filed through the courts.
Wright said there are positive signs, however, that the treatment of youth in the province has improved.
He noted that fewer young people are now housed at the Waterville facility, which shows that the system has changed over time.
“That tells us something about how we are thinking about this group of young people and how we’re treating them. The short answer would be a lot better now than we were,” he said.
— with a file from The Canadian Press
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