Mr. Speaker, the federal Young Offenders Act costs Quebec over $80 million yearly.
Despite the original 50-50 cost-splitting rule, and despite the fact that one quarter of the young people are within Quebec, Ottawa pays Quebec only 18.3% of the budget allocated to this program.
The Minister of Justice is talking about amending the Young Offenders Act in order to satisfy the Reform Party, but who will end up inevitably paying the increased costs of applying this legislation? Will the minister not admit that it is time Quebec was paid its fair share in this area?