I’m going to talk about the future. In the past, I found there was a lack of communication, particularly in David’s case, regarding these kinds of issues in high school. Once a student turns 14, school staff are not allowed to speak to their parents without the student's consent. Staff cannot speak to the parents of a student between the ages of 14 and 16—so, we parents cannot get any updates. The staff cannot talk to us and tell us what is going on. That is when parents feel powerless.
That is what happened to us. We didn’t know what our child was doing at school during lunch break, because the staff couldn’t tell us. The first we heard about it was when our child called to tell us they were emptying his locker. Imagine how we felt as parents when things had already reached that point. It’s unbelievable.
So, yes, there’s a need to raise awareness in schools. What could the school have done? It could have called the police, but didn’t want to penalize the student. Yet that is exactly what needs to be done: there must be an intervention. People think they’re being kind and helpful, but they’re not. So we need to start by raising awareness in schools.
Next, community organizations need support—that’s clear. However, you know as well as I do that when a private member’s bill is introduced and says that $1 billion is needed, it won’t be passed without a royal recommendation, and I don’t think that much spending would be approved.
This problem is everyone’s responsibility, at every level—whether it’s families, schools, society or community organizations. In Canada, we cannot simply accept the situation we find ourselves in today and fail to take care of our youth.