Mr. Speaker, this week one of Canada's leading crime fighters became the latest victim of the infamous Young Offenders Act.
Bob Runciman resigned as Ontario solicitor general on Monday because his government quoted the mother of a young offender in its throne speech, thanking Premier Mike Harris' boot camp initiative for “giving us back our son”.
Bob Runciman is a man of unimpeachable integrity who has distinguished himself through his tireless campaign for law and order and his determination to put young offenders back on the right track.
It is a bizarre irony that the same Liberal Young Offenders Act which allows many young criminals to go unpunished has marked the reputation of an honourable man such as Bob Runciman.
If any minister should resign over the debacle of the Young Offenders Act it should be the federal Minister of Justice for her failure to introduce amendments which would reintroduce justice into the concept of the youth justice system.