Thank you, Chair.
Thanks to all of you for your obviously differing views on this whole issue.
Ms. Derksen, I do want to thank you, offer my condolences on your own personal circumstances, and say that your approach to this is somewhat different from what we've heard from other victims. I want to say that your views echo those of Professor Bala, the law professor who spoke to us the other day. He said:
It must be appreciated that the youth justice system plays only a limited role in preventing youth crime or creating a safer society. Our pre-school programs, education, child welfare and mental health systems, and our families, faith organizations, community groups and recreation programs do much more to address the causes of youth crime and prevent future offending than the youth justice system. Further, as identified by Justice Nunn, to the extent that our youth justice system is failing to meet its objectives, many of the problems relate to lack of resources and inadequate training rather than to the legislation.
So thank you for giving us your perspective as well as that of other victims you've worked with over the years.
Mr. Sapers, one issue that hasn't been talked about very much--and perhaps Madam Roy can also comment on it based on her experience in dealing with offenders--is the change in wording from “pardon” to, I think, “record suspension”. It seems like a wording change, but to me it may represent a more profound change in our pardon system.
If I'm wrong, let me know, but my sense is that if someone says they've received a pardon, that means a lot. That they've gone through a process of being investigated, being rehabilitated, and being recognized by the parole board as having been rehabilitated. I think that means something to an individual, and it may affect their future life.
Saying that you have a “record suspension” almost sounds, in layperson's terms, like saying you have a suspended sentence. It's not as though you have received a pardon, which seems to mean something.
Mr. Sapers and Madam Roy, would you care to comment on that very briefly? Obviously we have only a couple of minutes.