Good afternoon, Mr. Minister.
Good afternoon, Mr. Sims.
I would like to start off with a brief comment. Very often, we look at the statistics that are provided to us to help us assess bills, such as the young offenders measure we want to bring in.
I will give you an example. In Quebec, there is a fellow by the name of Vincent Lacroix who defrauded 9,200 people. The statistics will show just a single crime; the 9,200 people will not be represented. In the case of Earl Jones, 150 people were defrauded, and only one person will be mentioned. In the case of young offenders, in Quebec—which I know especially well—all of the cases are not reported. I do not want to know the name; I want to know the crime that was committed to see if progress is being made in society, and so forth. That is important; nothing is reported, and Statistics Canada cannot report on the total number.
In Quebec, between 125 and 175 people disappear every year, and 41% of those are found, while 59% are not, such as Cédrika Provencher. We do not know whether she was killed or raped; we do not know anything. There is no possibility of finding information that can help us.
I am coming to my next question. I am very proud of the bill that we are introducing. Bill C-4, An Act to amend the Youth Criminal Justice Act and to make consequential and related amendments to other Acts, includes amendments for violent repeat offenders—in Quebec, it is for youth 16 and 17 years of age—who have committed irreparable harm, in other words, murder, attempted murder, manslaughter and serious violence.
You mentioned it a bit earlier, but how do you plan to allow the judge... This week, youth advocacy groups in Quebec said it was a good idea for the judge to know what had happened in the past. Do you plan to establish a link with the provinces to make it possible to obtain as much information as possible so that the judge can make a proper ruling, because, ultimately, it is the judge who decides?