Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise to speak to Bill C-3, an act to amend the old Young Offenders Act.
This should have been before the house in the early 1990s. I say this in reference to my former career as a mayor in Manitoba. The municipalities have been lobbying the government since the early 1990s to make the appropriate changes. There have been numerous resolutions from municipalities at the local level, as well as through the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. It was all for naught obviously. It has taken almost ten years to get a bill to amend the Young Offenders Act to this floor.
We all agree that there is a huge difference between violent offenders and those who are not violent offenders. We need to keep that separate.
I remember at one time the solicitor general's department sent out survey forms to all of the municipalities, asking them what they thought were the necessary changes. Most of us, willingly and co-operatively, filled out the forms and sent them back. Unfortunately we never heard from the solicitor general's department. I do not know whether that was surprising or not back in the early 1990s.
Time and again, with society changing, the rules need to change to keep up with the changing society.
The most common reference to the Young Offenders Act came from our enforcement people, the RCMP, telling the municipalities that they do their job and catch the violators, but their hands are tied because of the Young Offenders Act.
It is unfortunate that in recent times small-town Canada, always thought of as being a safe place to live, has been waking up to the real surprise that it is not such a safe place to live. Even in my own small city of Dauphin we have encountered very violent youth crimes. One example was when youths got together and broke into a senior's house. They robbed and battered that senior citizen, who subsequently passed away. This is the kind of experience that is traumatizing small-town Canada, which does not really know how to deal with the turn of events.
Vandalism is another issue that I hear about constantly wherever I travel. My riding is very large. I deal with about 80 municipalities on an ongoing basis. Vandalism is so bad that it has reached the point where the police will not even bother to deal with it. In fact, it is so ridiculous that during the summer break when I left Ottawa to return to my home riding in June, lo and behold, as I approached my property, the side of my garage had been spray painted. I later found out that it was done by a youth gang in the community. Believe it or not, I live kitty-corner from the police station, within shouting distance. I can see the police station from my front yard.
These are the kinds of concerns that Canadians have, certainly in my riding of Dauphin—Swan River. The Young Offenders Act needs to be amended. It is long overdue.
Last week during the break I met with a dozen municipalities at a group meeting with the RCMP to talk about this very issue of youth crime and police matters. There is no doubt that over the last few years a lot of problems arose because of cutbacks to the RCMP. It is my understanding that this year, from looking at the estimates, the budget has been increased by $11.8 million. Then I noticed that the government levied an extra $35 million for gun registration. I really wonder which is more important in this country, registering people's firearms or looking after our RCMP, which is badly needed.
The consolidation of our police force has also created a problem. I would say that consolidation came as a result of cutbacks in the budget. Over the past year we have heard in the House the many instances when police had to basically park their cars and their other vehicles because of the lack of funds to operate and repair them.
It comes down to the very point that people in this country, whether they live in cities or in small communities, want to live in a safe community. We all want to see a police presence. These were the concerns raised by the collective group of municipalities that I met with last week. They want the police to have the ability to enforce the law.
It is all right to take a preventive approach. We all believe that prevention is the best approach, but there are situations that arise which go beyond prevention. Things happen, laws become breached, people get hurt and property gets damaged. How do we deal with these people who do not follow the rules of society?
The Young Offenders Act, as it currently operates, does not work. We are told over and over again that it does not work. In other words, the police need help as much as the citizens of this country. They need the help of this House putting together good legislation that will serve the people in a responsible and effective manner.
I have encountered many instances of vandalism. For example, a small business had its front window broken. Who became the victims? The whole community became victimized. Unfortunately, we are all victimized because of the unaccountable and irresponsible behaviour of youth.
At this point there seems to be no way in which society can deal with these youth. In fact, it is so bad that in the small town of Birtle, Manitoba, the chamber of commerce had to hire a night security guard to patrol the main street of the community, believe it or not, because there was so much vandalism. The businesses were literally being penalized through the cost of vandalism. They found that hiring a security guard to do the night watch changed it totally. In other words, they are doing the job that the police should be doing.
I cannot understand why this government has not reversed the numbers when it comes to gun control and the budgetary requirements of the RCMP. Perhaps it can rethink that one before the estimates come before the House next month.
The Young Offenders Act has been criticized for many, many years. There is no doubt that violence in many cases cannot be prevented, but we believe prevention is the best approach.
Because of the lack of change another thing the Young Offenders Act has created in some communities in rural Canada is the sense that a curfew is necessary. It is really unfortunate that some communities need to think about looking for tools and other vehicles to help the police do their job. I know that curfews are probably not the whole answer, but they may be part of it.
The Reform Party supports the repealing of the Young Offenders Act and establishing a definition of juvenile offenders within the criminal code. Amendments should be made so that the Young Offenders Act would include young offenders aged 10 to 15, serious offenders aged 14 and 15, with offenders 16 and over tried as adults.
The Young Offenders Act should also permit public access to court proceedings in cases involving 14 and 15 year old offenders and in cases where the public's right to know supersedes the need to protect the youth's identity.