Mr. Speaker, I enjoyed the comments of the hon. member and I share his view that Canadians are most dissatisfied with the Young Offenders Act.
However I am somewhat concerned that on the eve of a re-examination of the Young Offenders Act, or a first examination of the Young Offenders Act on its 10th anniversary, it would appear the member has his mind closed before we have even begun to examine and test the 10 years' experience we have under the Young Offenders Act.
The Young Offenders Act is not a creature that was spawned out of nowhere. This is the successor act to the Juvenile Delinquents Act of 1911. Many of the things that the hon. member is complaining about were dealt with in the Juvenile Delinquents Act. When Parliament in the mid-eighties decided to bring the treatment of young offenders into the eighties, instead of into the early 1900s, certain decisions were made.
I understand the hon. member's comments, and he was very specific in the sections of the act, but I want to be more general. The general philosophy is that there is a difference between a young offender, particularly a first time young offender, and an adult who has committed an offence against the Criminal Code. I am not talking here about repeat offenders.
This is my question for the hon. member. I wonder if he has a problem with the philosophy that a young person, perhaps 12 or 13 years old, who for whatever reason, whatever economic circumstances may be, walks into a local convenience store and steals a chocolate bar or some other small item, perhaps a pen for school, and is apprehended. Does he think that young person should be treated in exactly the same way as an adult criminal? I do not think so.
As a society we believe that young people make mistakes. They are not adults. They do things wrong. I am not talking about murder. I am not talking about violent offences. I am not talking about people who thumb their noses at the court system because they have been in it 15 times. I am talking about the person who makes a mistake and should in my view be given a chance to rehabilitate himself without having the stigma of a record and without having the stigma of classmates, et cetera, knowing what happened.
I speak from personal experience. I will not go into a long speech. I had a friend that this exact thing happened to under the juvenile delinquents act. His name was never published. Nothing ever came out. He did not appear in adult court. He was treated under the juvenile delinquents act. It was a humiliating experience for him. He is a fine, upstanding citizen today, has never been in trouble with the law since the age of 14. I hate to think what would have happened if we had been spreading his name all over the place.
Is there not room in the Young Offenders Act for first offenders and treating young people differently on their first offence than adults?