Madam Speaker, I think it is correct to say that most teenagers will say that the Young Offenders Act has no teeth. They actually believe that. Yet when the police do a criminal investigation, the whole system surrounding an offence has exactly the same investigative powers, the same charge powers. So that is just wrong.
There is a misperception about the system. They would get a very quick surprise at how fast that system would take them in. It is not sport.
One of the analogies I use when I am talking to groups is that if I was sick and people were concerned about my illness they would tell me about the remedies that cured their disease. But in the long run, if I was really sick, I would still go to my doctor. If I was really, really sick, I would want the best specialist I could get.
Sometimes I think it is our obligation as members of parliament responsible for these issues to actually go and seek the best evidence we can get and then act on what will actually fix the problem; what will help to solve the problem, as opposed to what will satisfy the fears and the anecdotes. I think that is important to remember in this debate.