Mr Bentley,
I just finished reading the press release from the Attorney Generals Office saying that victims of historical sexual abuse in Cornwall will be assessed for local support services while the government evaluates Commissioner Glaude’s recommendations, because the current funding was to help them get through the Inquiry.
There are several problems with this:
First of all, the local services alluded to do not work. I know several survivors who have been through them, some several times, and failed to receive the help they need. They offer nothing more but drugs and talk therapy.
Secondly, Commissioner Glaude has gone on record as saying that he supports continuing the current funded counselling for up to 5 years. So why not at least continue it while evaluating his report?
Also, several institutions have already begun putting plans into place to follow his recommendations. Why is the Attorney General’s office only looking at it now?
And finally, the services offered through the Inquiry were about much more than getting people through it. For the first time in their lives, the survivors had a chance to work with someone who knows what they’re doing, who they can trust, and who can really help them to heal. There’s a reason the services currently offered are ‘free’ and the psychotherapists the survivors are seeing charge 100 dollars or more. They get results.
The institutions failed these people when they were children, and the Government we elected to look out for our best interest is failing them now.
If you could only see into the eyes of the people you are hurting, Mr Bentley. I hope you have a good night’s sleep tonight. I know some people who won’t be, thanks to your decision.
Sincerely
Gabriel Riviere-Reid
Cornwall, Ontario
(Comments and opinions of Editorials, Letters to the Editor, and comments from readers are purely their own and don’t necessarily reflect those of the owners of the Cornwall Free News, their staff, or sponsors.)
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