Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to speak to the bill and the amendments that are before us. I intend to address the subamendment first. However, in the context in which that subamendment was brought forward, I want to note that when the bill went through the House on its first round the NDP voted against it because of all the gross imperfections.
Our party will be supporting the amendment dealing with the clause regarding aboriginal youth, however, we are still considering our position with regard to the subamendment.
The Juvenile Delinquents Act was the bill that controlled this area from early in the 1900s. All the imperfections that were in that piece of legislation were supposed to be addressed by the Young Offenders Act. I remember when that bill came into effect, and lawyers across the country were trying to implement it, how difficult it was because governments were not funding the necessary services that were required under the bill.
It was interesting at that time to see that the province of Quebec began to implement the philosophy of that bill and deal with youth crime in a realistic fashion. It moved away from a punishment model to a treatment and care model. It did that with nowhere the financial support that it should have received from the federal government.
I was practising in Ontario at the time and I recall investigating the matter because I could not find these services for my clients, a number of whom had been convicted under that legislation. When I investigated it, I found out that only 20% of the services that were required were being funded. The interesting part was that the province of Quebec had began to fund it.
Then, we moved forward to the present bill and saw the amendments come through. The $200 million plus amount of money that would be allocated would not be sufficient. When we look across the country, the province of Quebec is the only one that has moved significantly to fund these services, and it has done it in the absence of the federal government.
Other provinces tried to emulate that pattern. My friend from South Shore mentioned that Saskatchewan began to move under the old legislation. However, the reality is that, in terms of our taxing power and ability to derive revenue, the federal government has that ability to a much greater degree than the provinces do. When Saskatchewan tried to move forward, in many respects modelling themselves after Quebec, it was thwarted simply by financial considerations. That would continue under the new bill.
There are strong reasons for our supporting the subamendment but we have not made that decision. I suppose our one reservation is that if we restrict it to the province of Quebec, the reality is that some of the other provinces have already begun to follow its pattern. I will not get into the discussion around the distinct society. My friend from Ancaster has already hung himself in that regard. I will not go down that route.
That is the one reservation I have with regard to the subamendment. The subamendment if passed would withdraw the bill and in effect say to the government to go back and do it right. That would very much have our support.
With regard to the amendment that came from the Senate, it was interesting to watch the exchange that occurred a few minutes ago and listen to the comments about the Senate being an undemocratic institution, which it clearly is. It is referring the bill back to us--