Madam Speaker, I am pleased to take part in this debate, in support of the amendment by my colleague, the hon. member for Laval Centre, which clearly and unambiguously calls for withdrawal of the bill.
If we were asked to give an award for the most despicable, the most backward, the most ill-founded bill as far as youth rehabilitation is concerned, we would not hesitate for one second before giving the nod to this bill on young offenders.
I would like those who are listening in, or have just joined us, to have some idea of what is being proposed to us. There is nothing run-of-the-mill about it. This bill refers to 14-year olds. That is those in early adolescence, not those who are 18, 19 or 20, i.e. young adults. To all intents and purposes, these are not even adolescents yet. These young people aged 14 could be given sentences comparable to those for adults. In order to avoid any ambiguity, I will read the actual words, for I am very much aware that words are important in matters of law.
This is what we are being asked to vote on, and I would ask the Liberals to pay a bit of attention. The clause in question states:
—being the group of offenders liable to be sentenced to what would be imposed upon an adult, in order to encompass the 14 and 15 year-old group.
This makes no sense whatsoever. How can the Government of Quebec, Quebeckers and all the youth support network, which makes Quebec society something very unique, accept such a bill?
As an aside, I have just come from a Privy Council briefing session in which I heard reference made to the House leader. He is, I know, a man who can be called upon for certain matters, for certain circumstances, but there are some matters with a human dimension which require, I believe, an appeal to his common sense.
I ask him to tell us in all honesty if he thinks that a 14-year old who is just starting out in life, who has no experience and is at the mercy of his environment, can be considered a hardened criminal the way an adult can? Naturally, it is possible that there are circumstances where young people get off to a bad start in life.
In our work as MPs, we all see instances of this. That is why we must turn to family support, social institutions, and measures for socializing and moulding a young person that will completely redirect these values, that will attempt to give meaning to his life.
The House leader surely knows that the commission of a crime by a 14-year old is a cry for help. It is a sign of distress, a sign of inner turmoil. It does not make the offence committed any less serious, but we cannot agree with the logic that imprisonment and an intense process of criminalization will resolve the problem. I just do not see it.
Members know that this bill is politically driven. They know that the Minister of Justice wants to align herself as closely as possible with the Reform Party. It is a question of votes.
When the Minister of Justice introduces a bill such as this, she does so not as the Minister of Justice but as an Albertan. That is what has to be understood. She introduces it as a servant of the federal government, which wants to hold on to its seats in western Canada.
This bill comes straight from the Reform Party mould. I wonder whether the union of the Liberal Party and the Reform Party is not germinating in a bill like this one. That is what we are talking about.
The Liberal Party never said in the red book that we should criminalize 14-year olds. Can the House leader tell us whether in the red book—and I leave the description to him, but it went round in certain circles—there was ever talk in 1993-94 of criminalizing 14-year olds? There was not. Now, the Liberals are realizing that the time for elections is approaching and consideration must be given to an electoral base.
It is too sad to be funny. No one here finds it funny, because the fate and the future of the young are at stake. I would ask the House leader to exert his influence on cabinet to ensure that corrective action is taken.
What I find the hardest to understand is the levels of crime. When the discussion concerns the organized crime that is gnawing away at communities, cities such as Montreal, we are entitled to expect remedy. How is it we are discussing a law on young offenders aged 14, but for three years we have been calling for legislation on money laundering, which we have yet to see?
There is a problem setting priorities. This government must understand that there are nuances to the subject of crime. Things are happening as if the word nuance was prohibited in ministers' speeches. And yet, I think a distinction must be made.
As the member for Hochelaga—Maisonneuve, I am often asked by my constituents about this issue, by people who are concerned about street gangs, about young people aged 13, 14 or 15 who may go astray and commit reprehensible acts in our society. This does not make them criminals in the same way as adults. This is what I just cannot understand.
I truly believe that we would make a terrible mistake, as parliamentarians, if we were to get caught up in that. If we set the age at 14 today, who is to say that, next year, representations will not be made to set the age at 13, or even 12? Where would it stop?
As parliamentarians, we cannot subscribe to this kind of logic. This is all the more worrisome considering that juvenile crime is not on the rise.
There is a whole attempt on the intellectual and political front to misrepresent facts; and this is dishonest. The government wants us, the decision makers and parliamentarians, to think that juvenile crime is on the rise when in fact, as the hon. member for Berthier—Montcalm, who is the Bloc Quebecois justice critic—