Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague from the Bloc for his comments. He is a member of our justice committee and I appreciate his participation on that committee.
When we did the 10 year review of the Young Offenders Act of course we went to Quebec and we listened to a number of witnesses. I was impressed with the advance that the Government of Quebec extends beyond what most other provinces have in terms of the treatment of young people.
Yet according to an editorial in the Montreal Gazette , there is a way to go even in the province of Quebec. Teachers in Montreal's largest school board are indicating that they live in a state of fear. In the last two years 90 incidents occurred where teachers were physically assaulted by students and 30% of the cases were considered so serious that police were called in.
Teachers have been punched, kicked, choked, bitten and scratched, had chairs, bags and books thrown at them. There is a youth crime problem in Montreal, certainly in this school.
As we travelled about in the last two months, we were in a number of urban schools. When talking to the high school students, grades 11 and 12, I was amazed at the number of students who raised their hands and said they lived in apprehension and fear. That is very sad for me to hear that.
We were in western Canada. We will be holding public meetings in June in Ontario and will be asking the same questions.
There is a degree of apprehension on the part of our students and I imagine there is a degree of apprehension with the students in the Montreal school this article refers to.
I wonder if I might address a question to the hon. member dealing with this whole concept of the recommendation made to parliament by the justice committee with regard to the lowering of the age.
We questioned some of the officials from the department when we were in Quebec and they seem to have a very good system of dealing with youngsters under 12 who get into difficulty.
I wonder if the hon. member would care to share the response of the authorities. When the police are investigating an offence and they realize it has been committed by someone under the age of 12, what is the process that occurs in Quebec?