Mr. Speaker, we know that common law tradition previously was that we would not put anyone under seven years of age through the criminal process. We had developed through common practice of the administration of the provinces under the old Juvenile Delinquents Act that no one under 10 years old was ever processed.
Our suggestions of changing the age of operation is to provide a better context where social services can be directly brought to bear on those who are most likely to benefit from those social services.
In this day and age of growing awareness and the sociological changes, by the time someone is 16 years old we grant them the privilege to drive a car and become an impaired driver. Yet we are going to still treat them as misguided children.
If the age in the Young Offenders Act was lowered to 10, probably most 10 and 11 year olds would never come before the courts. They would be dealt with through alternative measures. It would certainly put a flexible tool into the hands of the police for those exceptional cases that could be redirected at an earlier stage, rather than becoming a tragedy later in the system. We are saying that the basic change of operation is well rooted in criminological science and the experiences of social services in the community and is not a rather reactionary response.