Mr. Speaker, just this morning I had occasion to appear before the House committee on justice and legal affairs. I was the first witness in a comprehensive review of the Young Offenders Act the committee is now undertaking. We spoke exactly to this issue, the question of the age of the children to which the Young Offenders Act applies. I invited the committee to examine how we should deal with the cases of crimes by children younger than 12 to determine how best to ensure that the interests of those children in society are taken into account.
I am not certain that the answer is simply to extend the application of the Young Offenders Act because we are dealing with children of a very young age. I have asked the committee to look at the evidence, to hear from witnesses and to make recommendations on how best to deal with this, if only by ensuring that in the provinces, between us, the levels of government have appropriate ways to respond to these situations, look after these children, deal with the families that produce them and ensure public safety.