Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the member for Châteauguay on his excellent speech. Clearly, his sensitivity where young people are concerned, plus the fact that he is a lawyer and has experience in private practice, give him even more credibility in this debate, where we are discussing not only youth but the law.
First, there is one aspect on which I would like him to elaborate, because it is important that people understand the difference between the new law and the current one, which was applied in Quebec with a view to rehabilitation.
In my opinion, cases were heard before the youth court and not the adult court, with adult rules, it seems to me. I would like the member to elaborate on this if he has the time.
Second, it seems to me that, as a member of the foreign affairs subcommittee on human rights and international development, this is the aspect that concerns me the most. But when we see reports of the UN commission on human rights advising against this kind of new approach, we realize that the Canadian government appears to want to ignore them.
Finally, having been present here as a Quebecer and as an MP when a distinct society motion was passed, what does the member think of the fact that on the first occasion, or one of the first, that we have to test the concept of a distinct society for Quebec, the government ignores it, showing that the motion is therefore basically meaningless?