Boys found dead in Wendake, Que., had been known to youth protection: commission

MONTREAL — Quebec’s human rights commission is investigating the recent deaths of two children in Wendake, Que., whose situation had been reported to the province’s youth protection authorities. 

In a statement Tuesday, the commission said it will try to determine whether the children’s rights were violated.

The bodies of the boys, aged two and five, were found early Sunday morning in a home in Wendake, a Huron-Wendat First Nation territory near Quebec City. A judge has issued a publication ban on any information that could identify the victims.

A 30-year-old suspect turned himself in to Quebec City police and was later charged with second-degree murder in their deaths. He has not yet entered a plea.

The rights commission said would issue recommendations to Quebec City youth protection authorities “if it has reason to believe the children’s rights were violated.”

It says the investigation is private and no further information will be released.

Premier Francois Legault expressed condolences to the boys’ family and community at a news conference Tuesday in Montreal. “It’s always impossible to understand when someone kills two children; we ask ourselves why.”

Legault said that in addition to the investigations underway by police, the coroner and the human rights commission, Quebec’s junior health minister will also launch a probe into the events that led to the boys’ deaths.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 13, 2020.

The Canadian Press