moved that the bill be now read the third time and passed.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues.
It is always emotional to rise in the House to introduce a private member's bill. In 11 years, this is the first time I have had the opportunity to introduce a bill. It is a special occasion because there are so many of us in the House and so few of us get a chance to present our bills.
I was given this opportunity at a rather special time in my life, when I really wanted to do something. Life has given me a reason to bring forward a private member's bill that affects so many people, especially young people. That is why, last year, my wife Caro, my entire family and I thought about how we could use this opportunity to make a difference.
This opportunity surfaced following discussions with officers at the Library of Parliament, who gave us their unwavering support from the outset, along with the law clerks of the House, about introducing a bill to help young people. That was the genesis of the friends of David bill, Bill C-231. As I said earlier, I am speaking on my own behalf, but also on behalf of my son David, who is no longer with us, my wife Caro, my daughters Marie-Soleil and Justine, and our big, beautiful family, who are supporting me with this bill. I would even go so far as to say that they are supporting me and all members of this House with this bill.
I want to remind the House that the main purpose of Bill C-231, the friends of David bill, is to help young people struggling with drug addictions or mental health-related consequences. This aspect is a bit new, and I will talk about it more later on. The bill was amended in committee, and we just adopted a new version. I will come back to that a little later.
Bill C‑231 comes into play when young people appear before the courts for offences committed as a result of their addiction. Since the cases involve minors, justice system actors, whether they are police officers, prosecutors or judges, should have the ability to refer them to a treatment centre rather than punishing them immediately, as would occur in all other circumstances. The objective is to help rather than punish, at a moment when the actions of adults can still have a meaningful influence on these young people's lives. That is the purpose of Bill C‑231.
I would also like to thank all my colleagues in the House. That is precisely what all members chose to do on April 15: They chose to try to influence young people, while there is still time to intervene, by voting unanimously in favour of Bill C‑231. A total of 327 members voted for its passage. No one opposed it. As for the members who were absent, they were “paired”, in parliamentary terminology, and therefore could not vote that day. Many of them nevertheless expressed their support to me afterward. Had they been able to cast a vote, they too would have voted in favour of the bill.
Many people have already had the opportunity to see it, but not everyone has. I want everyone to know exactly what this bill will change: the youth criminal justice system. The bill sets out three main points. I think it is worth reading them this evening so that we all understand what this bill seeks to change, how we can help young people more and how we can ensure that they end up with a system that will help them to get back on the path to a better life rather than going down one that will lead them nowhere and that may cause them many problems throughout their life.
The bill will, and I quote:
(b) enable, in some cases, the youth justice court that finds a young person guilty of an offence to delay sentencing to enable the young person to participate in a problematic substance use treatment program or any other treatment program;
We are talking about drugs. I will come back to that a bit later.
It will also, and I quote:
(c) enable the youth justice court to include in certain orders the condition of attending a problematic substance use treatment program or any other treatment program; and (d) provide that the youth justice court may include in an order for conditional supervision a condition that the young person attend a problematic substance use treatment program or any other treatment program.
This could even allow a judge to require a young person to undergo treatment. As we know, when a young person is in that kind of situation, they will not always agree to participate in a treatment program. What we especially wanted to avoid was having a young person punished simply because they refused treatment. The bill specifically states that a refusal to participate in treatment cannot be held against the young person. Someone who attends a treatment program against their will is unlikely to benefit much from it. However, the bill would still allow a judge to tell the young person that they are being given an opportunity to participate and that, if they do so, the judge will not sentence them immediately. If things go well and the young person comes to understand the path they are on, they may be able to turn their life around more easily. Above all, it will give them a better start as they enter adulthood.
Those who have been following my speeches from the beginning will notice that the bill has evolved somewhat. I would like to thank Minister of Justice, the staffers from his office, and officials from the Department of Justice, who suggested significant improvements to the bill when the committee was considering it.
Now, orders will not be limited to just problematic substance use treatment programs. They could also apply to any other type of treatment program.
I would never have dared go that far when I introduced my bill. I told myself that if we wanted to have the support of as many people as possible in the House and if we wanted to be able to truly change the lives of young people, we should really focus on a specific target, to keep people from challenging it or saying that it made no sense.
The House gave unanimous support. When I saw the government's proposals, asking why this should not be extended to other forms of treatment, like for mental health issues, I thought it was an excellent idea. We would have even liked it to be much broader than that. That said, this will now allow even more young people to be able to access this unique opportunity to get help rather than being punished by the justice system if they commit a first offence, if they have a first conviction for problematic substance use or drug use.
This is excellent news for young people who are struggling, perhaps without knowing the cause or even being aware of it, but whose struggles may have been noticed by those around them or by judges, prosecutors or police officers. These measures will enable them to become aware of the issue and perhaps help them overcome it without having to go through all the negative consequences that such problems can entail.
By broadening the scope of Bill C-231, as we did in committee thanks to the support of all members, we are ensuring that no young person will be left behind. I think this is great news. We will be able to help even more people.
In a moment, I will speak about the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, but first I would like to thank every member of that committee for unanimously supporting the friends of David bill, as well as all the amendments that were proposed.
Things got quite emotional in committee. We heard testimony from people from the office, but we also heard from members of my family. I learned things from some of my family members, things that we had not really talked about before. It was quite emotional. Being in front of an audience, talking about personal matters and learning things from my daughter was such a special moment. I learned some things from my colleagues as well. Some of my colleagues shared things that really moved me. I will share some of them.
My wife reminded us that we have to stay united in our efforts to help young Canadians. She told the committee something that really stuck with me: “Inaction has serious consequences, profound and irreversible consequences. In our family, those consequences have a story, a face and a name, David.” That is why it is called the friends of David bill.
My daughter Justine surprised me. She said a lot, but there is one thing she said that I wanted to read this evening to show how important it is that we act quickly. She said, “The more time goes by, the more substance use takes hold, and the more substance use takes hold, the harder it is to overcome.”
Put that way, it sounds simple. Put that way, it sounds logical. However, when those words are said by my daughter, who lived with us and experienced those moments with David for a long time, who was both a witness and sometimes even a victim of the consequences of his decisions, it tells me that we are on the right track. What we want to do is, in fact, act more quickly. What we want to do is give young people a way to avoid going through that, as long as they realize it, of course. That is what the bill seeks to do: empower young people to realize what they are going through.
Angy Riendeau is a criminologist who came to testify, at my request, and who set the record straight. In parliamentary committee, we are used to hearing from witnesses who come to say the same things as us, but Angy came to tell us the truth. I will quote her so that I get the words right. She set the record straight by pointing out that legislative changes cannot have the intended effects if the resources are unavailable. She said:
We can add as many provisions as we like to a law, but if the resources aren't there, if specialized assessments aren't accessible, if families are left on their own for months, and if community stakeholders don't feel supported to intervene quickly, our mission today will not be achieved.
She even emphasized how important it is for parents to act at the first sign because, “at the first warning sign, a young person can truly access specialized assessment, concrete resources and adults capable of supporting them before the situation deteriorates”. When warning signs appear, people are available to help young folks, provided the resources are in place. Finally, Angy Riendeau, whom I thank for her participation, summed up what can truly change the course of a young person's life: “Beyond legislation, a rapid response, the quality of human connection and real access to services are often what alter a trajectory”.
She used to be a police officer and has now decided to devote her life to helping young people. I am very grateful to her for coming to tell us this, because up here in Parliament, we think we are doing a good job and that we have solutions for everything, but if the necessary resources are not actually provided on the ground, what we do here will not make any difference at all in the lives of young people. This is something my wife and I, along with anyone else who would like to help us in this effort, want to continue working on.
My Bloc Québécois colleague from Rivière-du-Nord said, “I won't speak for everyone around the table, but I think we're practically all in agreement on the bill introduced by our colleague”. He went on to say:
As a parent, I have always asked myself the following questions about my children: If I am too strict, will they run away, and if I am not strict enough, will they become delinquents? It's true that we don't know. No one has a crystal ball. I, too...would have liked to have someone like Ms. Riendeau with me.
This shows how difficult it can be for parents to understand what is happening with their kids. Rhéal showed that. I am sorry, I should have said the member for Rivière-du-Nord. I thank my colleague because this is, indeed, a reality parents face, and we have been through it often.
There were also some touching personal stories, like the story told by a Conservative member. I will not name him, because I did not ask his permission and because I do not necessarily want to tell his story, but he himself nearly took his own life 16 years ago and has known people who have struggled with addiction. He said in committee, “Some overcame these challenges, and others did not”, adding, “I believe that your work on this bill and your willingness to speak about the tragedy your family experienced will save lives”. He also said, “Justice and compassion both play a key role in our efforts and work”.
The fact that this person had the courage to come and tell us this in a committee meeting—and that he is one of my colleagues—well, that was touching, and that is indeed the message we want to convey. My colleagues in the Liberal Party also emphasized how important it is to take action to help young people.
Once my wife Caro and I decided to go public about our personal lives by tabling the friends of David bill, we found out that we are not the only ones who have gone through a tragedy like this, and we realized how many other families go through similar experiences. That is exactly why we must act now. I encourage members to take a look at the many comments made on social media after the bill was first tabled.
People opened their hearts and shared some touching stories. If these people got a chance to express themselves and perhaps these young people got to experience something different because we dared to talk about it and the members dared to support my bill, the friends of David bill, I think we will have done something good.
