I am going to continue along the lines of what Ms. Findlay said. I have a lot of empathy for the points she raised, drug addiction, organized crime and street gangs, which are a scourge on society. Ms. Findlay said there are treatment programs. There are, but there are not very many in adult prisons. I am not talking through my hat: I have worked in that setting.
We talk about intervention under the YCJA, in Quebec, differentiated intervention. I do not know whether you are aware, but when a young person is offered a choice between a mandatory minimum sentence and treatment, they choose the mandatory minimum sentence. A young person actually prefers to go to prison, at the beginning. They know it is a trophy, and they proudly believe it is the university of crime. They think there is not much rehabilitation because they are in a state of revolt. They are more afraid of having to get down to the nitty-gritty in individual or group therapy. That is the only place we can have an influence on this offender. When their revolt dies down and they agree to get involved, they do it positively.
Certainly the success rate is not 100%, but it works: the crime rate is going down. On the streets of Montreal, when I come across the ones who have not changed, they cross the street, but the ones who have changed say "thank you, Pierre". In many cases, I do not recognize them because I have not seen them in five or 10 or 15 years. They have grown up, they have jobs and wives and children; they are involved and are contributing to society. Those ones, I never see them again. In other words, it works. That is all I wanted to add.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.