Madam Speaker, as the Secretary of State for Children and Youth, I am very pleased to participate in the debate and to express my support for Bill C-3, the proposed youth criminal justice act.
This is very important legislation introduced by my colleague, the Minister of Justice. It is intended to replace the existing Young Offenders Act. Bill C-3 represents a fundamental rethinking and reform of the criminal justice system as it applies to young people.
For the first time there will be a clear statement of purpose and a set of principles in this legislation to guide the treatment of young offenders in all aspects of the criminal justice system. After extensive public consultation, the government has ensured that these principles and the act as a whole are consistent with the values of Canadians and with the best interests of young people. They will act as a clear guide to judges and police in dealing with young offenders. For example, the preamble reinforces values Canadians want to see in the youth justice system: accountability, respect, responsibility and fairness.
The proposed act clearly states that the protection of society is the primary objective of the youth justice system and that this goal is best achieved through prevention, meaningful consequences for youth crime and rehabilitation.
The proposed act contains a statement of principles that clearly provides that young people must be accountable for their actions and that consequences should reinforce respect for social values, encourage reparation to victims and the community and be responsive to the circumstances of individual offenders.
The government has carefully listened to the concerns of Canadians in all parts of the country about youth crime and how our justice system responds to it. We know that Canadians expect government to reinforce values of individual responsibility and accountability. We know that families and communities must be relied upon and supported in the raising of responsible healthy youth. We recognize that Canadians expect youth sanctions to be proportionate to the offence. At the same time sanctions must take account of age and other individual factors as well as the impact on victims and the need, the desirability for rehabilitation and reintegration of young offenders back into the community.
We must keep in mind as we debate this bill that young people are not the enemy. They are just as often victims of crime by youth and by adults. As every parent knows, raising healthy, happy, responsible children is a wonderful yet complex challenge. It requires care, sensitivity, common sense and a clear sense of values and priorities. Similarly the task of addressing the problem of youth crime requires a clear sense of purpose and values and the capacity to respond to the individual situations of each youth and his place in the community.
The criminal justice system must be able to respond to various contributing factors to youth crime. Simplistic lock them up and throw away the key responses are not effective. In fact they have been demonstrated to be more likely to contribute to repeat offenders than to reduce that problem.
I would know that. In the early nineties our territory in Western Arctic and the riding of Kenora—Rainy River of the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development were deemed to be the two highest areas for recidivism, for repeaters of crimes.
The bill, while dealing firmly with violent youth crime, will just as importantly support the rehabilitation of youth in trouble with the law, the vast majority of whom are not involved in crimes of violence.
We really must examine the bill in the context of the reality of youth crime as it exists in Canada. I draw attention to the recent statistics demonstrating that youth crime overall has been in decline in Canada.
Between 1991 and 1997 the charge rate for young people saw a 23% decrease. It is a small number of youth, comparatively speaking, who are involved in serious or violent criminal acts. The majority of charges against youth are for non-violent property crimes. In 1997 for example, 82% of charges laid against youth were for non-violent crimes such as theft, drug possession and contempt of court orders.
I say this not to minimize the seriousness of these offences, but rather to point out that we know the majority of young people who come into conflict with the law do so temporarily. With the guidance of society they are redeemable. They are capable of changing their lives and becoming productive, responsible members of society.
We also know that 18% of charges laid in 1997 were for violent crimes, representing a 2% drop from the previous year. But we are not complacent about this encouraging statistic.
In the case of violent crimes, this bill will ensure accountability and appropriate penalties and treatment for young offenders. For example, the bill will create an intensive custody sentence for the most high risk youth who are repeat violent offenders or who have committed murder, attempted murder, manslaughter or aggravated sexual assault. These sentences are intended for those with serious psychological, mental or emotional illness or disturbances. The sentence would require a plan for intensive treatment and supervision of these youths and would require a court to make all decisions to release them under controlled reintegration programs. Federal funding will be made available to support the provinces in establishing and operating this new sentence.
Bill C-3 will permit victim impact statements to be introduced in youth court. It will extend the group of offenders who are presumed liable for receiving an adult sentence to include 14 and 15 year olds. It will also allow an adult sentence for any youth 14 years or older who is convicted of an offence punishable by more than two years in jail if the prosecution applies and the court finds it appropriate in the circumstances.
With respect to custodial and reintegration measures, the bill will generally require that youth be held separately from adults to reduce their exposure to adult criminals.
Bill C-3 would permit publication of the names of all youths who receive an adult sentence. In addition, the names of 14 to 17 year olds given a youth sentence for murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, aggravated assault, sexual assault or repeat violent offences may be published. Publication will be allowed if a youth is at large and is considered by a judge to be dangerous.
While the bill will deal firmly with crimes of youth violence, it will also ensure that the criminal justice system has the flexibility to deal with the many other cases involving non-violent offences. In these cases, alternatives to custody are often the best means of promoting rehabilitation and reintegration with the support and assistance of the family and community. We know that young offenders are much more likely than adult offenders to be rehabilitated and to become law-abiding citizens.
For the past five years there have been approximately 3,500 to 4,000 youth in custody on any given day. In 1997 only 25% of young offenders in Canada were dealt with through processes outside the formal justice system. By comparison, the rate was 53% in the United States, 57% in Great Britain and 61% in New Zealand. Our system has relied too heavily on custody as a response to the vast majority of non-violent youth offences and we have reaped the negative reward of repeat offenders.
I quote the 13th report of the Standing Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs entitled “Renewing Youth Justice”:
Of the young offenders convicted in youth court in Canada in 1993-94, 40% were repeat offenders and 25% were persistent offenders with three or more prior convictions. Moreover a significant proportion of adults serving sentences in provincial jails and federal penitentiaries “graduate” from the youth justice system. These data buttress the findings from empirical research, which have shown consistently that harsh penalties do not change the incidence of crime post-release.