You started off by talking about the youth criminal justice system, and in particular you made references to the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
First of all, I'm not sure if in my appearances before this committee I've had much of an opportunity to talk about that. I, for one, believe in a separate law and a separate regime for dealing with young people. I think we have a greater opportunity to change the direction of a young person's life if we get at the problems that are causing that individual to commit crimes and give that individual the support and treatment he or she needs. So I have been a supporter of the various incarnations of laws that have come forward that deal specifically with young people.
That being said, we indicated to Canadians in the last general election that we would bring about changes to the Youth Criminal Justice Act. I can tell you that in the short period of time that I have been Minister of Justice, one of the areas most often raised with me by either my provincial counterparts or individuals involved with the criminal justice system is this particular piece of legislation. I think it can and should be improved, and we are committed to doing that. We will introduce legislation in that regard.
As a political party, in the last election we indicated that we believe that deterrence and denunciation should be included in the principles when it comes to sentencing a young person. We are having a look as well at the penalty sections for youth who commit serious or violent or repeat offences. So we're looking at that, and I will bring that legislation forward in due course.
We have a very busy legislative agenda, as you know, and I'd like to see progress made on the legislation we have.
You talked as well about legal aid, and you—