Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to have this opportunity to speak to the private member's bill that was introduced by the member for Surrey North.
I thank the member for bringing this issue forward. It is not always easy to bring forward a private member's bill for debate. A lot of work is involved. Next week we will begin debate on the new youth criminal justice act which is very important. I would like to congratulate the member for having done the work on this issue and for being part of a democratic process which ensures that these issues are aired.
The member's personal circumstances surrounding this issue are tragic. This is all the more reason that we need to debate these issues, to ensure that our youth justice system works properly and protection is provided not just for young people but for society as a whole.
The purpose of this bill is to make an offence as set out in section 7.2 of the Young Offenders Act a hybrid offence. As we have heard today in debate the bill does not change the section other than to make the penalty more serious. In serious cases under section 7.2, parents or guardians could face a jail sentence of up to two years if they fail to supervise their children who have been released from custody. This would be an increase from the current maximum penalty of six months in jail and/or a $2,000 fine.
Normally when a child is charged with a crime under the current Young Offenders Act, a parent or guardian signs an agreement with the court to supervise the child and enforce certain conditions until the charges are heard. This bill would increase the penalty if the conditions are not met.
There will be a much fuller and comprehensive debate in this House as a result of the newly introduced youth criminal justice act, Bill C-68. While we welcome this private member's bill as a good opportunity to debate something that needs to be aired, it is important that it also be in the context of youth justice as a whole. From that point of view it is important that the new youth criminal justice act be debated on the next day of business of the House.
We in the New Democratic Party very strongly support measures to protect the public from serious violent repeat offenders. We believe that youth who fall into this category and have been determined to be a risk to public safety should be held in custody.
One purpose of our youth justice system is to recognize when violent crimes have taken place, if custody is determined to be in the interests of the public, then those young offenders should be held in custody. We will get into this more when we debate the new act that has been introduced. We have some concerns about the impact that provisions such as the one before us today may have on families and their ability to meet conditions. What kind of difficulty will imposing a stiffer penalty have for a single parent, low income families or even families where both parents are working full time?
It is important to put on the record that although there are very good intentions around this bill, we have to have a balanced approach. We have to look at whether or not this kind of penalty will place a significant and unfair burden on some families and parents who lack the resources to strictly enforce the supervision orders. A bill such as this one may be something that becomes discriminatory.
In the last few weeks a lot of the debate in the House of Commons has been about what is happening to Canadian families and how they are under enormous stress. We have had debates from the Reform Party about the tax system. There has been a lot of useful exchanges in the House.
In today's day and age there is enormous stress on families. Parents sometimes have one, two or three jobs. Wages are being driven down. People are working longer and longer hours for less money. All of those things create stress on families, particularly on single parent families and low income families. These are very difficult times.
I do want to be clear about our concerns on the impact this bill, if it were approved, would have on some families in terms of their ability to provide the resources and supervision required under this bill and generally under section 7.2 of the act. We have to make sure that the families that can least afford the resources are not families that would be singled out and unduly punished.
If we want to deal with the issue of youth crime or youth justice, the NDP believes very strongly that we have to look at the underlying causes of youth crime. We must have adequate long term programs, not just a little bit here, a band-aid there, a new announcement today, or a few more dollars here and there. Governments at all levels have to make a serious commitment to address things like chronic youth unemployment and the lack of educational opportunities.
In my own community, I am sure every parent is aware that education has a real impact on young people. Young people who are seriously involved and doing very well in school and whose needs are being met through the educational system are very unlikely to get into trouble.
Education is a lifelong process. Young people must be supplied with the educational, employment and training opportunities they need. I and many other members in my caucus believe they are fundamental and critical things we can address as a society to ensure that we are actually preventing crime.
When kids are productive and involved in their communities and in their schools, they are not getting into trouble. They are not falling off the edge. They do not feel isolated, that nobody cares about them, that they have no future and that they have no hope.
Unfortunately, the converse is true. When we see the lack of educational opportunities, the lack of training and jobs and the lack of community support then we see kids who are very high risk. They become vulnerable to the sex trade, to illegal drug use and to youth gangs. All of those things become pressures on young people.
From our point of view, those are the issues that need to be addressed if we are serious about addressing the causes of youth crime.
Next week for the first time, the B.C. government is declaring a week to stop the sexual exploitation of children. Youth awareness week is being very much supported by the RCMP as one way to draw attention to some of the issues facing our young people and how they get drawn into a criminal and marginalized lifestyle. This is something we need to deal with and ensure that there is an adequate response.
We appreciate this bill being brought forward. As we begin to debate the youth criminal justice bill next, we want to deal with these issues in a more comprehensive way. While we do support the intent of what is being brought forward here, we do have some concerns about the impact this provision would have on some families.
We look forward to the debate that is coming forward in the next few days around the youth criminal justice system.