Madam Speaker, we spent quite a bit of taxpayers' dollars on the 12-year review of the Young Offenders Act. When we talked to ordinary Canadians as we travelled across this country what we found was that they see a lack of ability within the Young Offenders Act to respond adequately to youth crime. We heard that over and over again.
We also heard that the communities want the authority to deal with their own children restored back to them. Families want restored back to them the authority to raise their children in a manner that they think is in the best interests of them, their communities and this country.
There is no question that the Young Offenders Act has formalized to a great extent simple acts that would normally be dealt with by a high school principal or a teacher in the classroom by the discretion of a peace officer. That discretion has been removed by the formalization of the system. Families want this right, this responsibility and this authority to look after their own children returned to them.
We saw program after program, such as the Sparwood program in Sparwood, B.C., coming from the people. People, in spite of all the money and interference by the government through legislation like the Young Offenders Act, were bringing forward programs to protect their children and to keep them out of the criminal justice system. At the same time we see obstacles being placed in the way by the components within the justice system that have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo in an industry that spends $10 billion a year on youth and adult crimes.
There is much to do in amending our laws in this country, including the Young Offenders Act, in order to regain the confidence of Canadians and place back into their hands the authority and responsibility to raise their own children in a manner they think is in the best interests of themselves, their children, their communities and this country.