There are some. I believe the west is ahead of here—we're very far behind. What I find particularly interesting in the specialized courts is that they're called the problem-solving courts. That's been developed to a great extent in the United States. They talk about community courts, problem-solving courts, specialized courts; there are a number of names.
The principle is really interesting. These are initiatives in which there is a higher degree of formal intervention than an alternative to prosecution—let's say it that way—but in which the role of the judge is changed so as to take a more balanced look at the social problem than as a transgression or the idea of an offence.
The problem-solving courts operate differently from one region to another. Some are very oriented toward the punitive aspect, whereas others are oriented more toward therapeutic care. The judge changes in a way—as is the case in France—and becomes a sentence executor, where the sentence is in effect suspended. In addition, people dealing with problems are monitored very closely. They regularly go before the judge to testify, for example, about the progress they are making on their detox program.
This is a promising initiative that has not yet been introduced in Quebec. I believe there is some talk of establishing a problem-solving court in Montreal. I think it's a kind of initiative that should be put in place in the aboriginal communities. Of course, an evaluation would have to be... It's true that is causing dissent in the communities. The positions on alternatives aren't the same. In Quebec, for example, there are about 15 justice committees, but not all of them function as well as that. Sometimes they may be a bit too much in the pay of the courts. They act as sentence executors.
I think we have to try to intervene more upstream. There are some promising initiatives, such as the healing circles. The one in Hollow Water, Manitoba, is an example of an initiative where there is a genuine partnership between the community of Hollow Water, the healing circle, the RCMP, the courts and the prosecutors. You have to have the courage to say that you're suspending charges to permit more suitable initiatives. Hollow Water is a good example of a community that has taken charge of itself.