Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to take part in this debate on Bill C-68, an act in respect of criminal justice for young persons and to amend and repeal other acts.
It is a very important piece of legislation that deals directly with one of the most delicate aspects of our collective behaviour. When dealing with youth crime, it is important that society behave correctly so that the situation does not become worse for the individual who is directly involved and that measures be taken to ensure adequate rehabilitation.
In this regard, Quebec has a very legitimate historical position which seems to be the envy of many other countries and which has had notable and undeniable success.
I would like to share with you an excerpt from the report brought forth in 1995 by the task force established by the Government of Quebec to look into the Young Offenders Act. It is called the Jasmin report, no doubt after the chairman of the task force. This excerpt truly reflects the position of the Bloc Quebecois, which is valiantly put forward by the member for Berthier—Montcalm. I take this opportunity to recognize the excellent work he has done on this issue, as he usually does on any issue he tackles.
I quote from the Jasmin report:
It is often easier to change a law than to change practices of intervention. It may be tempting to think that tougher legislation is the answer to the problems of delinquency.
Simplistic responses blind us to the full extent of complex problems and create the false impression that we are doing what is necessary to resolve them.
One such simplistic response is substituting get-tough measures for educational approaches. This, however, overlooks the fact that adolescents are still in the process of learning, and it means they are being saddled with full responsibility for delinquency, as if the society and environment they live in had nothing to do with it.
I think these lines are a good reflection of Quebec's very progressive position, one which has proved itself and, as I mentioned earlier, is the envy of many.
This is the position of the Quebec coalition, which is opposed to the federal government's plan to change the rules of the game, putting Quebec in its place to a certain extent, and refusing to follow Quebec's lead. On the contrary, the federal government is siding with the Reform Party, which takes a right wing approach, an approach pushed by Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan when they were in office, an American approach the effects of which are becoming increasingly apparent in our daily lives.
The coalition is composed of well known individuals. They are very representative of our society, and speak knowledgeably about this issue. I will name the 16 groups who are in favour of the same position, the position supported by the Bloc Quebecois, and who all criticize the position of the Government of Canada and support that of the Bloc Quebecois.
First, there is the Commission des services juridiques du Québec, which represents the defence. This includes prosecutors and defence staff involved in legal proceedings. As if by chance, it therefore includes both those who prosecute and those who defend, which is the best proof of all of how representative this coalition is of those who work daily in this very difficult area.
This is the list of 16 groups: the Commission des services juridiques du Québec, which is on defence side; the Conseil permanent de la jeunesse; Jean Trépanier, of the School of Criminology of the University of Montreal, who is an eminent criminologist; the Aide communautaire juridique de Montréal, which also works for the defence; the Fondation québécoise pour les jeunes contrevenants, the Institut Pinel which is represented by Cécile Toutant, also prominent in that area; the Association des chefs de police et pompiers du Québec; the Conférence des régies régionales du ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux du Québec; the Association des centres jeunesse du Québec; the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse; the Bureau des substituts du procureur général, which works on the prosecutor side; the Association des CLSC et des CHSLD du Québec; Marc Leblanc, of the Psycho-education School of the University of Montreal, who also is a well-known authority in that area; the Regroupement des organismes de justice alternative du Québec; the Canadian Criminal Justice Association; and finally the League for the well-being of young children of Canada.
These are Canadian organisations which have made Quebec's position their own and whose Quebec section completely endorses the position of the coalition and the position of the Bloc Quebecois.
I believe this shows there is serious unrest on two levels; first on the socio-economic level and second on the Canadian political level.
On the socio-economic level, when we talk about young offenders and youth crime, fortunately this type of criminality is decreasing. Indeed, it has decreased by 23% between 1991 to 1997. As a matter of fact, youth crime is linked to serious unrest in our communities leading young men or women, to commit such serious acts. We should not only treat the effects of crime but also deal with its causes.
As can be seen in the quote from the report, this makes young people alone bear the responsibility for delinquent behaviour, as though society and the community had nothing to do with it. I am deeply troubled by this kind of thinking.
When we talk about young offenders, we are talking about the failings of our economic system. We are talking about the failings of neo-liberalism, which is promoted by right wing parties like the Reform Party, to which the Liberal government is much too eager to cater.
The same applies to the problem of the homeless, to the unacceptably high unemployment rate in Canada and Quebec, to precarious employment, to family violence, to food banks, to over consumption of drugs, to mental illnesses, to the unacceptably high suicide rate for a civilized society like ours, to family tragedies with murder and suicide or murder of the wife and children, tragedies that are becoming far too frequent.
All those things are inter-related, and it is not coincidence. We must go to the roots of the problems. We must examine not only the effects, but also the causes of these excesses and failings in our societies. This is when we have to look at the socio-economic causes, something we do not do often enough in this parliament, where we like to deal with issues on a superficial level, on a case by case basis, without ever getting to the bottom of things.
We must talk about the causes and stop talking about the effects and quickly go on to some other topic.
I believe there is something very political in this bill within the larger context of the constitutional debate. What we have here is two historically different approaches: Canada's and Quebec's. In Quebec the approach focuses less on guilt and puts less of a burden on the individual, whereas in Canada it is more punitive.
The fact that the government is ignoring the success of Quebec's approach is indicative of the new Canada envisioned in the spirit and the letter of the social union, whereby Quebec is not recognized as a distinct society, does not have a say, and is a province like all the others. It is important for those who are listening to understand this.
In this area, Quebec is a province like all the others. Its track record and success story are being trivialized. This is the future of Quebec within a Canada where everything is trivialized. From now on, Quebec will be a province like all the others, and its government will become a regional government. This gives us a lot of food for thought.