Mr. Speaker, there is an old expression, the elephant laboured and brought forth a mouse, except I think in this specific instance perhaps one could say more accurately the mouse laboured and brought forth a gnat.
What has the government actually accomplished after two long years of labour? There is a new name. The YOA is now the YCJA. That sounds like a song. From the government's point of view that is probably a good thing because the YOA was a lightning rod which attracted the anger of the Canadian people against the justice system of this country. Everything that was, is and probably will eternally be wrong, was indeed directed against that one specific act. So it had to be changed. There had to be a little sleight of hand, a little cosmetic surgery and it came up with a brand new bill which is supposed to have us all very excited.
There are some actual changes in the bill if one goes through the reams and reams of paper. There appear to be some changes. The age of responsibility with respect to sentencing for certain violent crimes has ostensibly been lowered to 14 years of age. Superficially this addresses a major public concern. There has been a lot of outcry about that over the last few years, but what has actually been done is merely to create a treasure trove for lawyers.
In order to get the 14, 15, 16 and 17 year olds into the adult justice system for sentencing, there has to be a court battle, a trial within a trial because any young person so charged can, through his or her lawyer, apply to the court to have his or her sentencing done in youth court. Naturally nobody will pass up the opportunity, so there will be eternal legal battles as to who will be sentenced as an adult and who will be sentenced as a youth.
This is an act written by lawyers for lawyers. Of course we all know that lawyers do look after their own. The justice minister recently found $83,000 in her stocking to reward a lawyer who also just happens to be a Liberal hack for three months of work. What a great example to set for the kids.
I had a letter from a constituent who said he wished we could pass a law making it illegal for lawyers to sit in parliament. I do not know how far that would go but perhaps it is worthy of some consideration.
Bill C-68 fails to address the major public complaint against the Young Offenders Act. That is the lack of accountability for repeat or serious offenders who happen to be less than 12 years old. The minister babbles interminably and incoherently that inclusion of 10 and 11 year olds within the youth justice system process would be “barbaric”. However she refuses to accept the reality that these children desperately need help, help that they are clearly not getting from the provincial child welfare and mental health systems on which they are dumped by the justice system because there are no alternatives.
Hundreds of kids are reoffending and laughing at the powerlessness of their social workers while feeling deeply hurt by the disinterest of their parents. By the time they reach their teens, they are hardened little criminals. We have to do something for these youngsters.
Most proponents of the idea that there should not be any legislation governing 11 and 12 year olds have the curious idea that young children cannot make reasoned decisions, that they are incapable of being judgmental. Those people certainly have not raised any kids. They have never been confronted with the guile of even the most benign and sensitive 11 year old.
On the good side, this bill will permit publication of names of young offenders more than 14 years old who qualify for adult sentences or who received a youth sentence for a particularly heinous crime. But again there is no certainty, again there is room for dispute, so let us call that initiative half good.
Alternative sentencing for first time non-violent offenders is, in my opinion, only common sense, as long as it is indeed limited to such offenders and not extended to young thugs who cause bodily harm. Similarly it should not be extended to old thugs who cause bodily harm and it sometimes is.
Diversion programs are also a very good idea, very laudable, but as my colleague from Battlefords—Lloydminster pointed out, the provision as written is wide open for abuse. There has to be some certainty in the law. This is all so wishy-washy, so poorly tied together. Again it is written by lawyers for lawyers. They can probably figure it out. They can find all the loopholes. They know where to jump to get over the barriers.
However it does not improve the justice system in this country by one iota. All it does is put a new coat of paint on the old YOA, and I think this is not an exaggeration, which almost everybody wanted to get rid of.
The government had the chance. It could have given us good law, but we are right back almost where we started from.
Before concluding, I would like to voice my objections to the string of insulting comments the Bloc Quebecois has been making about the west and westerners.
Imagine the fuss there would be if we dared to make such comments about la Belle Province. Attacks like these are revolting.