Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise before the House to debate Bill C-374, an act to amend the Criminal Code and the Customs Tariff with regard to prohibited toys.
I congratulate my hon. colleague from the Bloc, the member for Témiscamingue, for recognizing the inherent dangers that exist within the labelling of some products that are readily available to very young and impressionable children.
Although the bill focuses primarily on the labelling of dolls, it does raise important questions about all labelling in general and the effects the labelling could have on our children.
On the surface, it would seem that the information contained within the labelling of dolls could not possibly be detrimental to our children. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Certain labels could realistically create subliminal messages that negatively influence the perception some children have in regard to what constitutes acceptable behaviour.
The impetus for creating the bill originated from the efforts of one concerned citizen who happened to purchase a toy for her child only to discover that it contained within the instructions messages encouraging violence. Not only did the instructions encourage violence, it suggested that violence would make the child happier and more powerful in our society.
There is violence everywhere in our society. Evening television abounds with examples of how we are influenced by it.
What is more disturbing is the age of those committing acts of violence. Increasingly, they are under the age of 20.
Bill C-374 speaks to a broader issue of the prevalence of violence in our society. Everywhere one turns, children are being bombarded with messages that effectively state that violence is an accepted means of resolving one's problems.
One only has to look around to see that violence is depicted just about everywhere. For years now the motion picture industry has been competing against each other to see who can recreate the most realistic special effects depicting violent acts within our society.
Many television programs are also helping to accentuate the prevalence of crime in major cities. The portrayals of these crimes are so realistic that it is sometimes hard for some children to differentiate between what is real and what is fiction.
There is no doubt that our young people are influenced by what they see on television. The Colorado tragedy is proof of this. The method used to commit the murders bears a strong resemblance to a film seen in theatres.
What happened in Colorado is truly appalling. I would like to offer my heartfelt sympathy to all those who were affected by this tragic event. This massacre was followed by another high school attack on two teenagers in Alberta that left one young man dead and another seriously injured.
Details of such vicious attacks are becoming far too prevalent. Canadians used to believe that these terrible crimes were confined to big cities in the U.S. However, the shooting in Alberta and the terrible torture and murder of Reena Virk in B.C. have opened our eyes to the reality that our youth are increasingly turning to violence to resolve their differences.
The increase in crime is why the PC Party and Canadians as a whole have been calling on the Minister of Justice to amend the 1984 Young Offenders Act to make it tougher on those who insist on pursuing a life of crime. Canadians are sick and tired of seeing violent young offenders getting off virtually scot-free. Canadians want the government to start focusing greater attention on victims. They want their rights recognized and protected, just as much as the system presently protects young offenders.
In May 1998, the justice minister unveiled a new youth strategy to renew the 1984 Young Offenders Act. During meetings with provincial justice ministers, the federal minister heard her counterparts demand tougher legislation that would respond to the demands of society. Calls included lowering the age of application of the Young Offenders Act for serious violent crimes from 12 to 10 years of age and providing for easier transfer of cases involving serious offences to adult court from youth court, instead of a general reduction of the maximum age.
The PC Party endorsed measures to make the act tougher on youth crime. Led by our party's justice critic, the hon. member for Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough, a former crown prosecutor who witnessed the lives of many of the victims of youth crime, we fought hard to convince the government that tougher legislation was needed to help protect society. Besides lowering the age of application of the Young Offenders Act from 12 to 10 years of age, he strongly supported giving judges more power to impose mandatory treatment or therapy on troubled youth.
We now know that changes to the Young Offenders Act will fall far short of what Canadians expected and what the country needs to help reduce the prevalence of youth crime within society. Therefore, it is important that as elected officials we continue to pressure the government into accepting its responsibility of protecting Canadian society.
Bill C-374 will not eliminate youth crime. However, it could help to prevent young children from being exposed too early to violence.
In closing, I again congratulate my colleague, the member for Témiscamingue, as well as Ms. Ayotte, who took her petition far and wide to educate us to the danger found on the labels of children's dolls. Bill C-374 is a good initiative and I urge all members to support it.