Mr. Speaker, we do not have a justice system in this country. What we have is a soft on crime legal system, a legal bureaucracy which is growing by leaps and bounds at tremendous cost to victims and taxpayers of this country, a legal system where, as characterized by Ottawa Sun columnist Ron Corbett, dodging justice is now the norm.
Mr. Corbett's commentary was the result of the application last week by the lawyer for Brian Raymond to prevent him from being transferred to an adult facility. Raymond was sentenced to just four and a half years for his part in the murder of Nicholas Battersby.
In accordance with the YOA, Raymond was to be transferred to an adult penitentiary as soon as he turned 20. Now 20, Raymond remains in a youth detention centre, dodging justice until his lawyers exhaust all legal manoeuvres while the parents of Nicholas Battersby are still unable to put their lives back together.
While lawyers joust with legal ploys, victims are left in utter despair. Reform's fresh start promises to put victims of crime first by ensuring that criminals do not dodge justice.