Letter from Victoria Family Court & Youth Justice Committee Re: 2024 Annual Report
A transmittal letter for the committee's 2024 Annual Report highlighting educational and advocacy work.
February 14, 2025
Attention: Mayors and Councils Local Governments Participating in the Victoria Family Court & Youth Justice Committee
Please find attached the 2024 Annual Report of the Victoria Family Court and Youth Justice Committee (VFCYJC). It was approved by our membership of appointed municipal councillors, school board trustees and citizen appointees at our Annual General Meeting on January 23, 2025.
I would appreciate if this cover letter and the Annual Report be placed on an upcoming council agenda for informational purposes.
The Victoria Family Court Committee was created in 1966 under what is now the Provincial Court Act. In the late 1980s, the Committee was designated as a “Youth Justice Committee” by the Attorney General under the now-Youth Criminal Justice Act. The VFCYJC became a delegated commission of the Capital Regional District through CRD Bylaw No. 4453 in February, 2022.
As you’ll read, the Annual Report spotlights our education and advocacy work in 2024:
- Grant funding support for three youth-serving applicants, namely the Victoria Youth Empowerment Society, the Umbrella Society and the Human Nature Counselling Society;
- Our continued multi-year campaign to secure stable funding for Greater Victoria’s Mobile Youth Services Team, which in 2024 featured a VFCYJC-commissioned report from Dr. Rebeccah Nelems (titled MYST: Critical Status Report and Recommendations) and an editorial published in the Victoria Times Colonist;
- Presentations by the Hon. Grace Lore, Minister of Children and Family Development, the Be Amazing campaign’s Cathy Peters and representatives from the University of Victoria’s The Law Centre;
- And a panel presentation and discussion on issues impacting the capital region’s vulnerable youth, notably gang recruitment, sextortion and the importance of the School Police Liaison Officer Program.
Please learn more about our work at the Committee’s website.
Sincerely,
Marie-Terese Little Chair, Victoria Family Court and Youth Justice Committee Mayor, District of Metchosin Vice-Chair, Capital Regional District
cc The Hon. David Eby, Premier of British Columbia cc The Hon. Niki Sharma, Attorney General cc Cliff McNeil-Smith, Chair, Capital Regional District