Pubdate: Thu, 14 May 2015
Source: Toronto Star (CN ON)
Copyright: 2015 The Toronto Star
Contact:  http://www.thestar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/456
Author: Jocelyne Richer
Page: A4

ONLY POLICE IN QUEBEC CAN STRIP SEARCH STUDENTS

Policy Change Follows Outrage Over Search of 15-Year-Old Girl

QUEBEC- School officials in Quebec will no longer be permitted to 
strip search students as the provincial government moved to act on a 
report recommending that only police officers conduct such examinations.

The report, made public Wednesday, was ordered following the highly 
publicized strip-search of a 15-year-old girl at a Quebec City school 
in February.

The incident sparked outrage right across the country after the girl 
told a local paper she felt violated by the search after school 
officials suspected her of selling drugs.

Education Minister Francois Blais said Wednesday the practice will 
soon be banned.

"First, it's not acceptable because it's a kind of humiliation for 
people," Blais said. "And second, only because it's not really efficient."

Fabienne Bouchard, a former prosecutor and retired lawyer hired to 
conduct the probe, wrote a school that has serious grounds to believe 
a student is involved in drug trafficking should call police instead 
of carrying out the search itself.

The Quebec City school board at the centre of the controversy 
defended its actions and said it was only following government policy 
drafted in 2010 after consultation with provincial police and school 
board officials.

The school principal in question said the girl disrobed behind a 
curtain and that there had been no physical contact. No drugs were 
found. Family lawyer Francois-David Bernier maintained the high 
school misinterpreted government guidelines on searching students and 
humiliated his client.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom