Mr. Chair, I want to echo what Mr. Seeback said and take it one step further.
In 1995 I was part of the first ever restorative justice system that was created in Canada, in Sparwood, British Columbia. It was created by Sergeant Jake Bouwman and a local lawyer by the name of Glen Purdy.
It had great results, especially dealing with the fact that most of the people we are talking about are young offenders. Although they fall within the Criminal Code, they fall within the Young Offenders Act or whatever it is called now.... As a result of that, we had to find a better way to deal with young offenders, a more appropriate way.
Restorative justice was and continues to be today one of the better forms of dealing with it, because it forces not only the victim but the accuser of said crime to face each other and deal with each other. In that light, that is why I don't feel that this particular bill that has come before us, from Ms. Fry, would create anything better than what we already have. It's there. It's a matter of utilizing what we already have.
Restorative justice is just one tool that could be greatly utilized but isn't, in my opinion. Those are my thoughts.