I have just been reminded that that will be over three years.
Again, I will bring this back to Judge Chaperon from Victoria, who is a youth court judge. That is her biggest frustration. The resources are not there so that when these kids go askew she can make sure they get the help they so desperately need.
In many cases they had disastrous family backgrounds which are absolutely beyond imagination. It is up to us as a society to make sure we can give them at least a fighting chance, get them into counselling programs or life skills programs or whatever they need. If they need psychological help we could provide it, but that is not there.
My colleague from the Progressive Conservatives also talked about Quebec and the opt out provision. I personally do not think that we should be giving a province an opt out provision. We need a national youth justice program. The reason it is fighting for it is that what is on the table is not adequate. It is not the answer.
At the end of the day there is no question we have seen the same Young Offenders Act. There will not be a lot of difference. There has been some tinkering, but there will not be much change in how we administer our youth justice system. We have lost the confidence of the Canadian people. We have lost the confidence of the public. We have to restore that.
There has to be accountability and a twofold approach. When we get them before the courts in the beginning we need a tough love approach. Let us deal with them. Our number one goal is to make sure that they never come back into the justice system again. I am not talking about incarceration. I am talking about tough programs and curfews that are mandatory so that they will not want to come back. It will not be an easy ride. It will also deal with the rehabilitative side.
Obviously there will be a second approach for the few that go askew and will commit these incredible and horribly violent offences. There will be accountability and we will deal with them in a severe way so it will not carry on.
At the end of the day we have to restore the confidence of the Canadian people in our youth justice system. Unfortunately the bill basically repackages the Young Offenders Act with a new outside but the same interior.