Guilty, aren't you?
So I ask you what kind of youth justice system would you like if your child or grandchild committed a violent offence. Perhaps you're thinking that couldn't happen to your family.
I've been working at the Institut Philippe-Pinel de Montréal for 40 years.To date, we've taken in more than 1,000 teenagers between the ages of 14 and 18—I haven't counted to the last unit—who had committed violent offences. We've had youths who had committed murders, some of whom are very well-known, and youths who had committed other violent acts, such as sexual assault.
I won't talk about rehabilitation right away. Instead, I'll talk about their families. It is incorrect to believe that youths who commit violent offences always come from totally disorganized families where the children aren't taken care of. That's false.
I'm deeply moved by the fact that this bill is called Sébastien's Law. The teenager who committed the offence spent a number of months in my department. Even though he of course committed a very serious act, I can tell you that, over the year and a half he spent with us, we worked with him, and there are some things that that youth achieved. In spite of that, he was sent to penitentiary to serve his life sentence.
Has the use of an adult sentence afforded better protection for society in this case? I would say no. You may have a different opinion, but I would nevertheless say no to you. It is incorrect to think that his parents didn't take care of him. I believe the parents were just as upset as a lot of people in his circle.
We should all imagine that he is our child. I'm going to tell you what I would like if my child or my grandchild was arrested. Of course, I would like people to take into account the seriousness of his act, whether he had hit or killed people. I don't think we can disregard that aspect and focus solely on the adolescent's needs. However, I would hope that his needs would be cared for and that people would take into account the fact that a teenager is not an adult, that he doesn't have the maturity of an adult, that he doesn't have the ability to judge without involving his emotions, like some adults—some adults aren't capable of proper judgment either. Teenagers in general are more emotional, and their emotional dimension takes more room. They commit extreme acts; they commit what I often call inelegant offences. An adult kills with a firearm, whereas a teenager beats up people or commits acts that make us react. We find those acts horrible. The fact is that teenagers don't commit their offences using firearms. Instead they react in an emotional situation, and they commit stunning offences.
If I had to define the youth justice system that I would like to have for my children, for Canadian children, I would ask, first, that people take greater account of the needs of adolescents when it comes to imposing measures. I would like authorities to take the offence and needs into account.
In 1993, a review was conducted of the Young Offenders Act, which had been in existence since... Pardon me, that was around the time of its creation, since it was adopted... Whatever the case may be, that act was being reviewed.
Under the Juvenile Delinquency Act of 1908, the justice system became a social service system. The judge became a father and determined the best measure that should be taken. At one point authorities felt that was enough and that they were going to make adolescents a little more responsible. As a result, the Young Offenders Act went into effect in 1984. At that time, we started disregarding the needs of adolescents. The authorities said they were going to make them accountable and protect the public.
In 1993, the Supreme Court rendered a judgment in what was called the JJM affair. The judges held that the needs of the young person should be considered in the placement decision, and not just the nature of the offence, even if it led to a longer sentence.
Allow me to explain. We went to the other extreme. In many cases, we realize that the measures taken are too short in duration. They are escalating measures. Young people are left in the community for a very long time. We realize that, with regard to the rehabilitation institutions that take in young people, we're waiting far too long. We let them deteriorate. The right measure has to be applied at the right time taking into account the offence committed and the needs. It is very important to take the needs into account. This implies that we should intervene properly with an adolescent who suffers from behavioural or mental health disorders.
Ultimately, what does it mean to protect the public? We're increasingly moving toward principles that advocate protecting the public. In my view, if you want to protect the public, you have to try treat the person who causes victims. If you put that person in a detention centre and try to correct his problems, you're simply going to fail.
What is an adult detention centre? I'm going to compare that kind of centre with a detention centre or rehabilitation centre for young persons. I'm going to tell you what happens in my field. The adolescents live with educators. They take part in activities with them and they meet with them. The educators are somewhat like parents. Rehabilitation is like education. Values must be communicated on a daily basis. For example, if a youth serves food at mealtimes gives all the best pieces to his friends and the rest to those he doesn't like, by not intervening, I let him exercise the power to violate, in his own way, those he doesn't like. He has power over the others. In a rehabilitation environment, we intervene in this kind of situation and we stop this type of behaviour. Rehabilitation takes place on a daily basis.
In an adult detention centre, the contrary occurs. It isn't because the people who work there don't want to do anything. They want to help the inmates, but the environment doesn't let them do it.
Let me explain. An inmate who is incarcerated in a wing with 150 inmates takes courses for an hour in the morning on how to manager his violence, on possible issues other than aggressive behaviour. He then returns to his wing, and then it's dog eat dog. There's a guard in the little glass cabin that I call an aquarium. He's in his corner and doesn't influence the inmates' daily lives.
In penitentiaries for adults, everyday life is a world of exploitation. If you doubt that, ask people who work there. They'll tell you how it works. They have every possible difficulty obtaining a therapeutic environment. The fact that anyone considers it useful for youths to be detained at adult detention centres is a mistake.
Youth justice must remain justice for youths; it must not be modelled on the adult system. Their needs must be taken into account.
With regard to the publication of names, is there anyone around this table who believes for two seconds that publishing the names of offenders would help them rehabilitate, that that would prevent them from reoffending? In my opinion, it's the contrary that could well occur. In many cases, the major offenders are happy to see their names in the newspaper. They score each other in a way. This is absolutely not a preventive or accountability measure.
I'll stop my presentation here. I'm going to answer any questions you may have.
Thank you.