Madam Speaker, I listened with great interest to the remarks the hon. member for Vancouver Centre made before Question Period. In her remarks, she repeatedly provided assurances to the effect that provisions not included in the legislation, which were to be covered by the regulation, would be appropriately covered. I am not quite sure that I am satisfied with that, but at least I had the pleasure of hearing her say that, in her mind, a solution may be found in precedents created in previous pieces of legislation.
More specifically, I would like the hon. member to assure me that one way or another, the courts can, while not being legally bound to do so, induce people charged with possession or use of narcotics to seek rehabilitation and detoxification therapy.
At present, as we know, the law does not require a judge to deal with a youth, for example, in such a way as to get him or her rehabilitated or detoxified. It is left entirely to the discretion of the judge. Unfortunately, judges all too often put behind bars young offenders who really need treatment instead.
Finally, is it not unfortunate that mistakes of youth cause young offenders, children, and teenagers to have criminal records following them for the rest of their lives, when it would be so much simpler to set them back on the straight and narrow by decriminalizing offenses which are, by and large, minor and fight the big-time drug lords instead.
I will conclude on this note. In the hearings on Bill C-85, the ancestor of Bill C-7, members of the police forces themselves expressed concern about the fact that the bill did not deal with drug lords, but only small-time dealers.
I would appreciate it if the hon. member could comment on this.