Mr. Speaker, certainly I have made an effort to share what is in the bill. The mild gestures for opening up the system, for sharing of information, for example, is going to be a
most tangled provision. It is going to be very difficult to administer.
We have heard very convincing arguments that we really do not even need a young offenders law because of the charter. I have heard some rather learned people argue successfully that way.
I am saying that Bill C-37 really does not go far enough relating to the ability to take a statement or general openness. For specific and general deterrence to work the media should have access. We have a system of rules for maintaining criminal justice records. I know how difficult it is trying to keep separate files and create a fiction to a subsequent sentence in court, trying to figure out what I am allowed to tell the judge and what I am not allowed to tell the judge because of all the tangled provisions in the Young Offenders Act. I might be misleading the judge because of the social engineering aspects of it.
I am simply saying that Bill C-37 is not workable and there is nothing that can fulfil that ideal. I can give cases where the act has worked the other way and has caused harm.
As far as 16 and 17 year olds are concerned, we basically say they should be dealt with in the adult system.