Thank you.
The amendments proposed in Bill C-4 give us significant cause for concern, due to the negative impact they will have on young people who come into contact with the criminal justice system. These proposed amendments to the YCJA do not advance the goal of improved community safety. They will also be very expensive.
I'll briefly discuss our three main concerns about the bill and ask that you refer to our brief for a more comprehensive analysis.
One of our primary concerns about this bill is its expansion of the grounds for holding a youth in pretrial detention. Pretrial detention should be used as a measure of very last resort with young people and for the shortest possible time. Significant justification for restraint in the use of remand is found in a range of sources, from the research literature, to human rights principles, to arguments for fiscal responsibility. The research shows that time spent incarcerated is actually a criminogenic factor. To be clear, that means that the incarceration of a young person actually increases the likelihood that they will reoffend. The reports on the death of Ashley Smith speak to the profoundly negative impact of custodial settings on young people, particularly those with mental health concerns, as well as the dangerous spiral of pretrial detention, institutional charges, and around again, that can result from unnecessary entrance into the carceral system.
The likelihood of harsher sentences also increases. A Department of Justice study found that the detention experiences of young people, when all other factors such as prior record are controlled for, affect the likelihood of pleading guilty and receiving the most severe sentence. Those who are not released by a court after being detained at their first arrest are disproportionally sentenced to custody, as are those who have multiple stays in pretrial detention. Thus, if the goal of the youth criminal justice system includes reducing recidivism, protecting the public, and even saving money, then pretrial detention should never be used unless it's the very least restrictive measure available.
By relaxing the conditions under which a young person can be detained prior to trial, there's also an increased risk of police and the courts using remand to deliver a sort of wake-up call or short, sharp shock to youth. But pretrial detention decisions must never be made with the goal of modifying a young person's behaviour prior to their conviction for a crime. Young Canadians have the constitutional right, as we all do, to not be punished for a crime for which we've not been found guilty. Despite these concerns, Bill C-4 actually seeks to increase and expand the use of pretrial detention, and we strongly oppose this proposal.
Bill C-4 also seeks to add general deterrence and denunciation of sentencing principles. To this, the John Howard Society also strongly objects. This amendment is not supported by evidence and will not prevent crime or reduce reoffending. It will also inevitably increase the use of custodial sentences and may contradict the legal principle of proportionality. As you're aware, people who commit crimes typically do not consider the length of the sentence they might face when they're making the often split-second decision to commit a crime. Young people in particular are characterized by immaturity, spontaneity, and a sense of infallibility. Deterrence and denunciation are, unsurprisingly, without support in the academic literature as a means of preventing or reducing crime or improving public safety. There is, in fact, literature to suggest that the very issues that are correlated with criminality and young people, things like family conflict, low self-control, and school disruption, are also correlated with high impulsivity, low self-control, mental health concerns, and addictions, all issues that reduce one's capacity to perform the careful cost-benefit calculation that is required if general deterrence is to be effective.
Finally, the John Howard Society strongly opposes the amendments contained in clause 8, namely, the provision that participation in extrajudicial sanctions be considered in sentencing and contribute to the likelihood of a custodial sentence. This amendment is counterproductive and it undermines the rehabilitative focus of the YCJA. The proposed amendment can only effect a decrease in the use of EJSs by youth, which would be extremely regrettable. The focus on EJSs in the YCJA has been a wide success, and this process is effective at meeting goals of reparation and lowering recidivism in a much more inexpensive and effective way than custodial or other traditional interventions.
This amendment also raises concerns with regard to the legal rights of youth. The requirement that youth “take responsibility” when agreeing to undertake an EJS cannot be equated with a finding of guilt under the law, and to conflate the two is dangerous. The Convention on the Rights of the Child mandates that youth be presumed innocent until proven guilty, and participation in an EJS does not equate to legally proven guilt.
This amendment threatens to dilute the YCJA's important focus on not unnecessarily propelling young people into the criminal justice system and on not unnecessarily criminalizing what are often very minor acts.
In summary, we urge the committee to abandon or make significant amendments to the bill, which will undermine aspects of a well-functioning youth criminal justice system.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak today.