Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question. This is a pressing issue in my riding and I often referred to it in the election campaign.
I believe there is a serious problem. We seem to be saying in our committee that there is a problem with young people, that young offenders are really dangerous, that they are terrible children, that they murder people, etc. This is not fair since it does not apply at all to the young people I know. We must do something about this notion some members have in our committee.
There is a problem with some young people. When a young person breaks the law, it must be recognized that such an offence will have consequences, and it must be understood that there are laws in our society and that they must be respected.
We often hear some people say that they would like to see young offenders appear before an adult court, which I think is very dangerous. I have a problem with that approach. I think that if you send a young man to Millhaven, you are only giving him the opportunity to become a smarter criminal which, I think, is terrible. This government discussed amendments to current laws with provincial justice ministers, because provinces are responsible for rehabilitating children and young people.
It must be spelled out in the Act that some young people are dangerous and we must have another approachor them, I think. We must have specific rules on this.
I think we must review changes to the system by having, for instance, a record that would follow these young people.
I will have to speak in English on this part or I am going to get myself into trouble.
We have to change it so that there is a record kept on youth who have committed crime, especially when they are very dangerous. We have to ensure that society is protected and that in some cases the record is not wiped out. In some cases we could do a better accounting of these young people and ensure that they do not get caught up in worse crime.
However, in terms of crime prevention I think we can do a lot through education and by removing the root causes of crime. I mentioned family violence in my speech. Kids learn this stuff at home and from television sometimes. They learn it from an environment that is hostile to many people in our communities. They learn that it is okay to be violent against women.
All of us have to take responsibility for that and we have to change that system. We have to tell kids that it is not okay, that they can resolve conflict by discussing things, by coming to resolutions, by using alternative methods whether it is in the school yard, in the family or with others as they grow up.
I think we can do a lot as a nation about improving our society if we can address that. We as a community have done very well in Burlington on some of that. I have been pleased by some of the initiatives in the greater Burlington area and the greater Hamilton area that have incorporated Rotary Clubs and school children and teaching them this sense.
However, we do have to address those issues.