Thank you, Mr. Chairperson and members of the committee, for the opportunity to speak with you today.
My name is Paula Osmok, and I'm the executive director of the John Howard Society of Ontario. I'm here today on behalf of the John Howard Society of Ontario and the John Howard Society of Canada. Our national executive director is out of the country and not available today.
Also, we have a written submission for you today, and it will be forwarded to you, I understand, once it's translated.
As you know, the John Howard Society is an agency with 65 offices across the country that helps improve the safety of Canadian communities by working with those who are at risk of becoming involved or are involved in the criminal justice system.
Our mission is effective, just, and humane responses to crime and its causes, and our work is grounded in the research on what works to prevent crime and recidivism.
As an agency with literally decades of experience working with youth involved in the criminal justice system, as well as communities affected by crime, we have what we believe is the unique and important vantage point from which to consider the success and the challenges of the Youth Criminal Justice Act and to comment on the potential benefits and harms of the proposed amendments.
It's with this background that we speak to you today on the matter of Bill C-4, an act to amend the Youth Criminal Justice Act and to make consequential and related amendments to other acts. We oppose the majority of amendments that this bill would make to the YCJA.
The introduction of the YCJA led to many positive changes to the youth criminal justice system, such as the significant decrease in the incarceration rates of young people, and, as you heard previously, without a substantial increase in the crime rate as well.
It's important to be reminded that prior to the introduction of the YCJA, Canada had the poor distinction of having the highest rate of incarcerated youth in the western industrialized world, even higher than the United States. These changes were achieved as a result of the firm and sound focus on rehabilitation, reintegration, and prevention in the act.
We believe Bill C-4 seeks to dismantle this foundation and shift the focus of the youth criminal system to a punitive approach. In the words of the Montreal Gazette editorial board, “The thrust of this bill, unfortunately, is to move away from rehabilitation and toward retribution.”
Punitivism and retribution are incompatible with sound, research-based criminal justice approaches that work to reduce crime and its causes.
Instead of preventing youth crime or reoffending, this bill would actually increase rates of youth in custody, leading to harsher and more adult sentences for youth, reduce the use of extrajudicial sanctions, and increase the cost of the youth criminal justice system to Canadian taxpayers overall. Most importantly, the proposed amendments will do nothing to improve community safety.
Youth crime, as all of you should know, is best prevented by tackling the root causes of crime: poverty, lack of quality education in early childhood education, employment services, and recreation, to name a few. While clearly slower, the approach of preventing crime through social development is the best and most cost-effective way to improve the safety of Canadian communities.
At this point, I would like to call on my colleague, policy analyst Else Marie Knudsen, to speak to some of the specific amendments in Bill C-4.