Madam Speaker, I am pleased to enter the debate on Bill C-3, the youth criminal justice act. At the very outset, I want to indicate that it is a very important piece of legislation. It underscores the commitment of the Government of Canada to deal with a very complex issue as it relates to youth justice.
As the former chairman of the Waterloo Regional Police, I sat on that board for 10 years. I can tell the House firsthand that the senior officer and rank and file levels, along with all members of the police service, worked diligently in this area to ensure that we had a justice system in place, especially as it related to our young people. With 700 police officers and civilians, we were cognizant of the fact that this was an important area and one that required the kind of attention the Government of Canada is now prepared to move on. From that sense I am very pleased to see this legislation proceed.
By quick way of review, I remind all members of the House that our government launched a strategy for the renewal of youth justice on May 12, 1998. This process has been going on for quite a while. Subsequent to that, the youth criminal justice act was introduced. Then the federal budget announced $206 million over three years to ensure that programs were put in place to help achieve the objectives of this legislation. The point in indicating that is to say that now is the time to move on with this, get it to committee and let Canadians have their say with respect to this area. I am pleased that we are moving in that direction and doing so expeditiously.
The government's strategy for the renewal of youth justice recognized the foremost objective of public protection. It distinguishes legislation and programs appropriate for the small group of violent young offenders and those appropriate for the vast majority of non-violent youth offenders. It takes a much broader and more integrated approach that emphasizes prevention and rehabilitation. That is very key to this whole debate.
The issue facing those of us who are interested in the youth justice system is not whether the system should be tough or lenient, but whether it should be made to deal with crime in a sensible way. The proposals as outlined indicate clearly that youth crime should be met with meaningful consequences. What is meaningful depends in large part on what the young offender has done.
For example, most of us believe that youths who commit minor thefts or have been in possession of stolen property should be held accountable for their actions and rightfully so. However, last year we sent 4,355 youths into custody when their most serious offence was one of the minor property offences. Another 4,332 youths were put in custody for the offence of failure to comply with a disposition, typically violating a term of a probation order. These are both offences. Those who are found to have committed these offences should be held accountable and we know that. These two groups of offences constituted over one-third of the custodial sentences handed down to youth last year. That quite frankly is unacceptable. Being the lead jailer of children in the western world is surely not the preferred answer to youth crime.
The median custodial sentence for youth is 45 days. As taxpayers this will cost us as much as $9,000. No one is saying that these youth should not be held accountable for their actions. They should be and they must be. Their offences should result in meaningful consequences, but we must ask ourselves whether taking these youths to court and sending them to prison is invariably the best way to accomplish this. We need to ask ourselves whether it makes sense to spend $9,000 locking up a minor thief or someone who has violated a curfew.
The choice is not one of doing nothing or putting a young person in prison. There are programs in all parts of Canada, including my area, for holding young people accountable for what they have done that do not involve courts or jails but involve the victims. The youth criminal justice act recognizes that extrajudicial non-court measures are often the most effective way to deal with less serious youth crime.
The act supports the use of such measures wherever and whenever possible that would be capable of holding the young person accountable. The act clearly provides that these measures should encourage the repair of harm caused to the victim and to the community. They should also promote the involvement of families, victims and the community in ensuring an appropriate, meaningful consequence for the young person.
In order to encourage the use of creative and effective consequences for young people, the act supports the appropriate exercise of discretion by police officers and prosecutors. The act also recognizes that a range of approaches can provide meaningful consequences, including police warnings, formal police cautions, referrals to community programs, cautions by prosecutors and extra judicial sanctions, for example apologies to victims, restitution and community service.
When the formal court process is required many sentences other than custody can provide meaningful consequences for youth crime. Community based alternatives, for example, are often more effective than custody. They are encouraged by the new legislation, particularly for low risk, non-violent offenders, alternatives that require young people to repay victims in society for the harm done, teach responsibility and respect for others and reinforce societal values, Canadian values. When these front end measures and non-custodial sentences are used effectively the provinces can reinvest the money saved into crime prevention strategies that will address the legitimate concerns of Canadians about crime.
As part of its strategy for the renewal of youth justice the federal government has committed itself to a wide range of prevention programs. In this context it was not surprising to learn that public opinion polls show that over 85% of Ontario residents would prefer money to be invested in crime prevention than in additional prisons for youth. Almost as many, 79%, would prefer us to invest in alternatives to prison for youth rather than prison construction.
The other side of the coin is that by dealing sensibly with minor crime we can refocus the system on serious crime that Canadians have legitimate concerns about. The new act's sentencing principles make it very clear that youth sentences should reflect the seriousness of the offence and the degree of responsibility of the young person. Custody, then, will be targeted to youth that commit violent and serious repeat offences.
In the new legislation judges will be required to impose a period of supervision in the community following custody that is equal to half the period of that custody. This will allow authorities to closely monitor and control the young person and to ensure that he or she receives the necessary treatment and programs to return successfully to the community.
The period of supervision administered by the provinces will include stringent mandatory and optional conditions tailored to the individual. If a youth sentence, for example, would not be adequate to hold a young person accountable, the court may impose an adult sentence. The new legislation would make it easier to impose adult sentences for the most serious violent crimes. We are expanding both the list of offences and lowering the age at which youth can receive an adult sentence.
When the legislation is passed, youth 14 years of age and older who are convicted of murder, attempted murder, manslaughter or aggravated sexual assault will receive an adult sentence unless a judge can be persuaded otherwise.
We are also creating a fifth presumptive category for repeat of violent offences. This too underscores a commitment of the Government of Canada to move in this area and do it in an appropriate Canadian kind of way.
The proposed legislation also provides for a new sentencing option for the most violent, high risk young offenders. The intensive rehabilitative custody and supervision order provides greater control and guaranteed treatment to address the causes of the young person's violent behaviour. This is a kind of individualized treatment of intensive supervision which must be approved by the court and will assist us in curtailing youth crime in these areas.
I want to conclude by saying that youth crime cannot be legislated away. I think we all know and understand that. We can, however, deal more appropriately with it than we do at the moment. We can set up an effective set of programs outside the youth justice system and custodial and non-custodial rehabilitation programs within it which would reduce crime and hopefully will.
I believe Canadians think that in this sense we are on the right track. Our method of criminal youth justice is appropriate. It is a complex issue and I think we are doing it in a very effective way.
Let me simply conclude by saying that certainly the residents in my area of Waterloo—Wellington, and I believe those across Canada, support our balanced approach to this very complex issue.
Now is the time to act. Let us move the bill on to committee. Let us have Canadians have their say with respect to this area. Let us do so expeditiously. With great foresight we have brought forward legislation in the best interest of all Canadians.