Madam Speaker, I welcome the hon. member's question.
It is true that I had the pleasure of visiting his riding, I think it was in 1994. The hon. member came to visit my riding too. That has been a very beneficial exchange and I have a great deal of respect for this member of the Reform Party who, like several other colleagues of his, is more open-minded.
However, to answer the particular question he asked me, I will say that, while his position appears to be consistent, the fact of the matter is that the bill would destroy the very foundations of that position. First of all, the bill focuses on measures of the third category, which are aimed at the most difficult cases. It is clear that it puts less emphasis on measures of the first and second categories.
So, if less emphasis were put on these measures, that is on the care of young people convicted of minor offences, if fewer efforts were made in that respect, these young people run the risk of committing more serious offences for lack of help. They will then be facing measures of the third category because they will have become difficult cases. What the bill will do is merely create more difficult cases.
Following this reasoning, the present legislation would have to be retained so that all of the emphasis may be put on the first two measures, in order to have a minimum of individuals move on to the third.
And now what can be done with that group? The last thing we want to do—and I am sure that my colleague from Kootenay—Boundary—Okanagan agrees with this—is to block their rehabilitation. If not rehabilitated, when they are back on the street, the semblance of security we enjoyed for the two, three or four years of their incarceration will blow up in our faces when they do get out again one fine day and, instead of being rehabilitated, are really hardened criminals.
The tougher the cases, then, the more needs to be invested in rehabilitating them. This is the only way, not just to ensure the safety of our communities, not just to save money, but also to save the young person himself.
The arguments being used by my colleague for Kootenay—Boundary—Okanagan are exactly the opposite of the laudable objectives he wants to pursue. He must realize this. In Quebec we have demonstrated the right way to apply the Young Offenders Act in its present form.
I would invite him to come back to my riding with me and I will show him directly how well things are working. Perhaps then he will be able to remind the people in his part of the country that, if we want the first two measures to work properly, there must be more investment so that the third becomes the exception. For those cases, we have to make sure that the results are exceptional as well, so that public safety is guaranteed and the young offenders become full-fledged members of society.