Mr. Speaker, I think this works best at a younger age. At the beginning of my speech I said that the training of a young person to be a law-abiding citizen begins at age two days. Maybe we waited too long, but I think it is a lifelong thing.
I remember seeing a poster many years ago of a tree with one branch that was really crooked. The tree was beautiful except for that one branch and the caption read “As the twig is bent, so grows the child”. When we talk about restorative justice, I think the example I used from my own life illustrated that. I believe we have to captivate young people as early as possible. If we train them throughout life, both by word and by example in the family, in the school and in the church, to be moral, to put the needs of others ahead of their own and to be unselfish they will not grow up to be criminals. If they do make their own decisions later, the earlier the better to catch them and provide the opportunity for restorative justice, for restitution, for facing their victims and for giving them some solid role models to follow at that stage. I am absolutely convinced that is the way to reduce it, but I do not think we will ever get away from it entirely with human nature having a bit of a bad streak in it.
I reiterate there are some who progress despite all efforts into more and more serious crime. When an individual is found to be incorrigible we have an obligation, as stated in the principles of the Reform Party, to protect law-abiding citizens. If there is one who just will not obey the rules and who is doing worse and worse things to other people, to their person and to their property, we have to use that part of the law which restrains the evil doer.