Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, witnesses.
First, when it comes to your answering, I want to ask each of you whether you were invited to participate, and indeed did participate, in the minister's round table cross-country conferences in 2008 in various cities across the country. I'll let you get to that, but I have a specific question or summary as well.
I think it's always good to look at what the act is about and what the changes are about. If I could simplify it and then ask for your comments, it seems to me it's like this. The act had, in section 3, its principles as intending to do three things, in no hierarchy--three important things: prevent crime, rehabilitate young persons, and make young people subject to meaningful consequences for their actions. Those are equal principles in the act.
However it's trying to be spun by those outside the four corners of this document, this act attempts to make the protection of the public the major and the only concern, and to make persons accountable to promote rehabilitation--not the actual fact of rehabilitation--but promoting rehabilitation and the prevention of crime as means toward protecting the public. So the simple question is, is this a complete change in what the Youth Criminal Justice Act was enacted for, and that is the three prime principles I mentioned?
And is it just reverting to a Criminal Code by another name? The Criminal Code is to protect the public with the various measures put in it. It doesn't bother to have a preamble because the Criminal Code says it all; it's a Criminal Code. This act--which was not objected to by previous Progressive Conservative governments, was not substantially attacked until now--attempts to change it completely and make it really just an addendum to the Criminal Code. Would you agree with that, would you expand on that, and could you help us in any way?
But first, please answer the question as to whether you were at those round tables in 2008.