Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to finally get a chance to speak to the government's attempt to revise and update the Young Offenders Act. Contrary to popular belief, this is something for which Canadians from coast to coast to coast have been calling for years, not just cowboys from western Canada.
I find it ironic that my party gets abused for this. We are portrayed as insensitive and tough minded when it comes to criminals, yet the first thing the Liberals do when they trot out their latest effort is to brag about how tough minded it is. I guess we could say that it is pretty insensitive too, but in this case it is insensitive to the wishes of a majority of Canadians and certainly my constituents who are looking for a little more meat on the bones.
The youth criminal justice act like other legislation that has percolated up through months or years of consultation and study contains a germ of good intentions. Section 6 formalizes the role of police to correct the actions of young offenders who have committed minor infractions.
Over the last few years our justice system has been bogged down with the rights of the criminal to the point that police find themselves on the defensive after carrying out their duties. What was acceptable on one occasion is found unacceptable by a later court. This process has made the officer's ability to deal with people frustrating and time consuming.
At a town hall meeting one year ago my constituents told me that for first time and minor offences rehabilitation is the top priority. Local authorities must have the option of running programs that suit local conditions and that bring young offenders face to face with their victims and the impact of their thoughtless actions. It is kind of based on the sentencing circle model we see being used in the aboriginal communities.
I was told that young people must have respect for the justice system. I believe that is something which cannot be started young enough. The problem with Bill C-68 is that it leaves this concept up to a variety of jurisdictions, a lot of them overlapping, and it includes no money to encourage a system of diversionary programs.
We are all in favour of civil rights and no one wants to see anyone victimized by overzealous authorities. Unfortunately what we too often see these days is the concept of human rights being twisted and reinterpreted to what is more acceptable to special interest groups and their particular needs rather than the acceptance of everyone as being equal under the law. This undermines the job of the police which is to keep the general peace and apply the law equally to anyone who breaks it.
Young criminals see that concept operating and lose respect for the law while they take advantage of the loopholes. I realize these are qualifications. There is such a thing as diminished capacity that suggests younger people cannot frame the moral implications of what they are doing with the same sophistication as a mature adult, but this does not mean there should be no consequences, only different ones. I would hope the young people of the country still have enough respect for the police to listen and alter their behaviour when a man or a woman in blue comes calling.
In rural areas, allowing police to use discretion and deal openly with the young offender and his parents may save a lot of time and trouble. The problem then becomes whether we can be assured there will be enough officers to go around. With the financial abuse suffered by the RCMP at the hands of the government it is not a hopeful picture. Bill C-68 does not promise any relief for hard pressed police forces in this respect, or community programs for that matter.
It is ironic that the justice minister would choose to number this bill with the same designation as the previous gun control bill. We see over $200 million being wasted there when it could certainly help prevent crime by being invested in our youth.
I congratulate my colleague from Crowfoot for his excellent work in bringing forward the perspective of frontline police officers. His name is not on the bill but his ideas are certainly stamped there. Maybe in his lifetime we will see real change in the country, in the words of the minister, “in a timely fashion”.
I notice in section 8 the crown prosecutors may likewise be authorized to issue cautions rather than proceed with court action. This can be different from province to province according to the whims of each attorney general and can undermine the work of the police. I realize that criminal cases cannot go forward on the exclusive say-so of the police, but we do see instances where overworked crown attorneys trade off low profile cases for higher ones to the frustration of the frontline officers. I also note there is a great deal in the bill about diversion or, as the government terms it, extra judicial measures.
Contrary to government spin, I do not believe that any of the Reformers or the two million Canadians who voted for us are interested in filling our jails with young people. That is not the answer. We had the unfortunate spectacle of the justice minister claiming we want to jail 10 year olds and I am sure even she regrets playing these political games in order to score points.
The entire justice committee heard and put forward in the report the need for action expressed by Canadians. My constituents said that 16 and 17 year old repeat violent offenders should be treated as near adults rather than near children. I will repeat that. We are talking about repeat violent offenders being treated as near adults rather than near children.
Young children are being targeted for participation in criminal activities by older youth offenders and career criminal adults who believe they are untouchable and maybe will remain so under this redecorated bill. Unless 10 year olds are taken under wing by the justice system, especially a stronger system than we see today, they will be headed for future problems that all of society ends up paying for.
The member for Surrey North has logged countless hours with diversion programs that work. Every clear-thinking Canadian would like to see young people corrected before their misbehaviour leads to serious jail time.
The Liberal version of extra judicial measures has enough holes in it to drive a stolen car through. The definition of offenders who will be eligible for diversionary programs can include those very car thieves, drug traffickers and break and enter criminals as long as they do not “cause or create a substantial risk of causing bodily harm”. That is a loose term.
Like so many other statutes in law, this is open to interpretation. I can imagine courts taking up time defining what has happened before ever getting around to deciding what to do about it.
I wonder if teenagers out on a joy ride in a stolen car represent a substantial risk of causing bodily harm or an insubstantial one. I guess it depends on whether they run over anyone or not. Does whacking another fellow on the head with a lead pipe constitute more of a risk causing bodily harm than whacking him on the knee? I guess it all comes down to interpretation.
In section 9 we see that evidence of an offender having received extra judicial measures or special status on previous occasions is not admissible for proving prior offending behaviour. Like the closed file that we have now, the record of trouble with the law cannot be entered as evidence that the person is a repeat offender. The youth is safe again. This means that young offenders and drug traffickers could be diverted from serving jail time over and over again. They will not be called repeat offenders, never having been designated as repeat offenders, because each case will be or may be treated as a one time event. We can hope that this will not happen in practice but the opening is definitely there to be tested.
The definitions are all open to interpretation and challenge. As I said, our clogged court system will spend more time chasing its own tail and it will vary from province to province.
My constituents at the town hall meeting said that the central concept of the youth justice system must be that actions have consequences and that legal actions will bring swift and appropriate punishment. Instead, Bill C-68 brings more arguments between judges and lawyers. I guess that is a perverse Liberal job creation.
It is in the area of definitions and interpretations that gets us most in trouble. The justice minister has said that there are competing visions for competing cultures in law. She seemed to suggest there is a simplistic vision which wants to jail all transgressors and a more compassionate vision which wants to be flexible and helpful.
As every parent knows, there is room for both of these approaches when bringing up our young people. Parents know that sometimes we have to be firm and say no. When the line is drawn, the consequences for crossing it must be immediate and relevant, scaled up or down to fit the nature of the situation. My constituents were clear on this very distinction.
It is ironic that a government that keeps claiming a role in raising the next generation refuses to make the tough choices that parents must do every day. We do not see clear lines drawn in the bill so much as circles. We read about what may be done or what should be happening in a variety of cases and in different jurisdictions. This could be interpreted as flexibility, but in light of the present state of underfunded, overworked and handcuffed police forces in the country, I think we can see it as an abdication of a government bent on being politically correct and offending as few groups as possible while turning the whole mess over to the courts. That is simplistic; just pass the buck but not the money.
The old adage, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, certainly defines the direction we must entertain regarding our youth justice.