Mr. Speaker, I have a few remarks on why the NDP will not be supporting Motions Nos. 1 and 3 in the name of the Bloc member. These motions, if passed, would have the effect of allowing the province of Quebec to opt out of the youth criminal justice act. That would not be acceptable.
I say this in the context of belonging to a party which on other issues and at other times has supported the ability of Quebec to opt out of certain national social programs with compensation. In the past our party has supported the recognition of Quebec as a distinct society in terms of its civil law, its French language and its culture, et cetera.
However allowing Quebec to opt out of the youth criminal justice system, which would be applicable in every other part of the land, would be going much further than anything we have agreed to so far. It would not be in keeping with the arguments we have advanced with respect to opting out when it came to other matters.
I say this with some regret, because I have some sympathy for what members of the Bloc Quebecois have been saying about the youth criminal justice act. They have indicated that in their home province the Young Offenders Act has been made to work better than in many other provinces. As some would argue, the Young Offenders Act has worked in Quebec closer to what was intended when it was passed in 1984.
However that is not reason enough to make the leap that Quebec, or any other province for that matter, should be allowed to opt out and have its own separate youth criminal justice system. That is not something Canadians in general would find acceptable. They may not find the youth criminal justice act acceptable either. They may find, as we do, that the bill is imperfect to the point of not deserving our support. They may find that it is cumbersome and complex, that it lacks the appropriate resources, and that all other things said about it by various critics at the provincial government level and others are correct.
Nevertheless the principle of there being one criminal law, whether it is criminal law for youth or a criminal law for others, for all Canadians no matter where they live is something I would want to uphold in this instance. That is why the NDP will not be supporting Motions Nos. 1 and 3.