Madam Speaker, I thank the members present in the House.
It is a privilege to participate in this debate on Motion No. 261 which was introduced by my colleague, the hon. member for Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca. I note the concern expressed in the comments of members from all parties with the exception of the Bloc. This is an issue of great interest to me as a father, as a lawyer and as a parliamentarian.
My colleague is asking the government to develop a comprehensive national head start program for children in their first eight years. He is talking about a co-ordinated effort between the federal and provincial governments and ministries. There are programs out there and he would like them to work together. That is what this is all about.
I agree with him that it is important to ensure our children have the best opportunity to develop to their full potential. While parents have the greatest responsibility in the nurturing and development of our children, we as legislators must ensure parents have the support they need. We must develop partnerships with our provincial and municipal counterparts to support initiatives aimed at reducing youth crimes. This is all about co-ordination and working together for the good of all our children in this country.
We must go beyond crime management. We must shift to crime prevention. I will discuss some examples I am familiar with through my practice in criminal law as a lawyer in youth court. Verbal, physical and sexual abuses are all obvious threats to normal psychological development. They have a devastating effect on children.
I saw the consequences of child neglect firsthand in the courts. They were easy to identify. They say it costs about $95,000 a year to keep a youth in a detention centre. That is arguable. I know we could debate that.
Stories of some of my personal experiences in the courtroom will emphasize the importance of prevention. A child of 12 or 13 could be before a judge for the first time. If a good, understanding judge had the tools and programs available, although quite often they were not, and there was family support, there were success stories.
We could follow up on these youths and the schools that played an integral role in the management of these youths who were not back before the courts. Yet we could see the chronic youth, those at the age of 14 with criminal records two and three pages long who were going through a revolving door. Yes, we have to hold these children accountable.
What the member is talking about is that we have to get to these children at an early age. There will be some who will slip through and end up in our justice system. However, from what I have seen in the courts, I honestly believe that we could stop a large part of this if we started at day zero. That is the key.
The Reena Virk case is an example. I probably saw some of these youths in the courtroom when I was practising law. It is the very courtroom I practised in. A 14 year old girl was savagely beaten by a gang of eight or nine children. Other children watched and did nothing. They beat her again and then broke her arms and her back and threw her in a river to die. It brings tears to our eyes. The worst part is that this is not an isolated event. In my own community of Sydney in the last few years we had another youth killed again by a group of youths. These are within 20 miles of each other. These are not isolated incidents.
We cannot bury our heads in the sand and pretend that these things are not going on. We as parliamentarians have a responsibility to co-ordinate. My comment on the remarks by the member who spoke earlier is that I support all the programs and things that are being done.
I do not believe the member is asking for a big wheelbarrow full of money. He is asking that we co-ordinate this together with the ministers from the provinces and the federal government and the people who are involved. We should get together to try to really and truly help these children to ensure they are getting the love, the nurturing and assistance they need in order that they do not end up in our justice system, like a revolving door.
These examples prove to us that the earlier years in life are so crucial. If we address them we will drastically reduce the social and economic costs to our society. This is a very small investment with a huge return. It is like an RRSP, the benefits are just enormous at the back end.
Many programs already exist in centres in Canada and the U.S. There is the program in Hawaii pioneering early intervention programs for children focusing on high risk families. They go right back to when the woman is still pregnant. If assistance is needed at that time it is provided. There is also a program in Michigan which my colleague has spoken about. The evaluations of these programs have shown a decrease in juvenile and adult crime by 50%. These programs are working and that is the most important part.
I am really encouraged to participate in a debate where all the parties, with the exception of the Bloc, seem to have children in their hearts. The long term savings to the taxpayers will be absolutely enormous. It works out to roughly $6 in dividends for every $1 invested. This is going on the statistics from these other programs. That in itself is something we cannot ignore.
The Reform Party stands for tougher laws. In no way is this motion suggesting that we cannot hold people accountable for their actions. The ones who slip through, yes, we have to hold them accountable and ensure they are dealt with toughly. However, what this is all about is stopping half of them before they get to that door. It is a travesty to see them coming through.
I practised in the criminal courts myself and of my own choosing. In our occupations we always want to feel we are making a difference and are quite proud of our work. Some would argue how anyone could be proud of their work while practising as a criminal lawyer.
However if we get the youth early and get them into the programs, we can make a difference, even for offences such as shoplifting which are deemed by the courts as very minor offences.
Sometimes we would get the family in there. We would send them off to counselling, probation, all kinds of programs. We could tell that that person was not coming back, that they were not going to be back and they were not. This is just enforcing that we should take that one step before and give these programs.
I listened to my friend's comments about the baby in the hospital and having to do an examination before sending the baby back into that terrible environment. It almost brings tears to one's eyes.
When sentencing these children in the courts they go through the child's history before giving the sentence. Every single time they describe the circumstances, the sexual abuse, the prostitution in the families, the physical abuse between the parents, just horrible conditions. Almost every time with those who are involved in serious crimes that is what is described without exception. That is what they went through.
Again, I commend my friend and colleague from Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca for his dedication to these very sensitive issues, something he believes in dearly in his heart and wants to make a difference. I thank again the hon. member for Mount Royal for her gracious offer to allow me to speak today.
I have a two and a four year old at home. I believe very much that we have to look after the most valuable resource in our country, our children.