Madam Speaker, certainly our role in the opposition is to hold the government to account. Our job is also to present constructive alternatives. When we bring the issue of justice to this Chamber, certainly the government should not mischaracterize our points in defence when perhaps in the public view it is found lacking in the operation of the justice system.
When the Liberals say we are extreme, they are just plain wrong. It is the failing system that is extreme. When they say we are simplistic, I think that is somewhat of an admission from the government that these complex issues of justice administration are rather confounding the government and it just does not know what to do.
Today the justice minister talked about the criminal justice system, the mental health system and the social welfare system, especially for young offenders. However, she forgets that it is the criminal justice system which provides the railway track for the train to be able to get to the social welfare system and the mental health system, for it is the police that form the 24 hour social agency in most of Canada, especially in the outlying communities. It is often in that context that the mental health worker or someone from the hospital and the local social welfare agency get together with the local justice system person to deal with problem families and issues. Unless we have the criminal justice system to provide the authority to act, we cannot bring to bear the other social services in the community.
I wanted to talk about what the justice minister said the other day. The justice minister said “justice delayed is justice denied”, but she continues to delay the introduction of the needed amendments to the Young Offenders Act and fails to bring in a victims' bill of rights. When are we going to have some legislation rather than continued reports and press releases?