Thank you.
As we said earlier, the Quebec model places considerable emphasis on compensation for victims. Under the extrajudicial measures system, about 5,000 young people are seen every year. We focus first on having the young person acknowledge measures to compensate the victims. At present, at the pre-decision report stage in the judicial process, we apply measures, meetings to open a dialogue—obviously only with consent—to enable victims who so desire to describe the effects, the harm and the damages they have suffered because of the young person's act, all of this also being with the goal of making the young person understand this and be accountable.
We think these measures are more constructive in terms of promoting the long-term protection of the public. The Quebec model involves more of a rehabilitation approach. It addresses the risk factors for recidivism on the part of the young person, after an exhaustive assessment of their situation, rather than based on the offence. Serious offences are sometimes committed by young people, but no matter how unspeakable the crime may be—in the case of the lady who spoke before, for example—some young people show significant chances for rehabilitation. Obviously, a majority of these do not involve serious crimes, but those chances are sometimes present even in the case of violent crimes.
We therefore think that focusing on the risk factors is more promising than focusing on the nature of the offence. Certainly, the sentence must be proportionate to the crime committed by the young person, but we think that focusing on the risk factors and the deficits present for the young person promotes long-term protection of the public in the long term. We can neutralize the offender in the short term, but if we do not tackle the factors that contribute to their criminal behaviour, we run the risk, when they come out of the youth centre, in the case of Quebec, that these issues will not have been resolved, that we will be facing the same situation.
I will let Mrs. Goyette expand on my answer.