Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to rise and speak to private member's Bill C‑231, which would amend the Youth Criminal Justice Act. For brevity's sake, I will refer to the act by its acronym, the YCJA.
I would like to salute the work of my colleague from Mégantic—L'Érable—Lotbinière, whose riding neighbours mine. Tragic circumstances led him to work on this incredibly important bill. I would like to thank him for working on it and for his remarkable dedication to our young people and to changing lives, families and communities.
I would like to show that the bill's underlying goal is entirely commendable, considering that its aim is to amend the YCJA to strengthen the approach to addiction treatment program in its enforcement framework. Bill C-231 reflects the lived realities and daily challenges facing certain young Canadians. In Canada, youths aged 15 to 24 are more likely to experience mental health and substance-related disorders than any other age group.
According to the Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey, 37% of students in grades 7 to 12—secondary school to residents of Quebec—reported that they had consumed alcohol in the past year. Over the same period, 18% of students had used cannabis, 6% had used prescription drugs in a manner other than prescribed, and 7% had used illegal drugs. Even more troubling was the fact that 22% of students reported having used two substances at the same time during their lifetime, while 18% had done so in the previous 12 months. Those are big numbers. In our ridings, what they represent are the effects of substances on young lives, families and communities, and some people looking for solutions.
I want to salute the work of organizations in my riding, such as Virage Santé mentale, L'Éveil, Phelps Aide, Mental Health Estrie and addiction rehab centres. Despite having very few resources, these folks work miracles to help young people. This is essential work, and it is even more desperately needed in the regions, where resources are limited, everyone knows everyone and accessing available resources is not always easy. Having more legislative tools to support youth and families is, as I said, of tremendous importance.
In this context, Bill C‑231 proposes to highlight and, in some cases, clarify the measures governing addiction treatment programs for teenagers. For example, it would require police officers to consider whether it would be appropriate to refer a young person suspected of a drug offence to an addiction treatment program before initiating or pursuing legal proceedings against that individual. The bill also proposes to allow, in certain cases, the youth court to delay sentencing to give the individual the opportunity to participate in an addiction treatment program. It also proposes to amend the YCJA to authorize the youth court to include, in certain orders, an obligation to participate in such a program. Finally, it provides that a mere failure or refusal to comply with this condition shall not result in a custodial sentence.
As we all know, the YCJA establishes a separate legal framework for young persons who have committed or are accused of committing a criminal offence, a framework that takes into account that they are more vulnerable, are still developing, and are still dependent on adults. One of the fundamental principles of the YCJA is to protect the public while promoting the rehabilitation and social reintegration of young offenders. It also emphasizes the importance of preventing crime by referring young offenders to community programs or organizations to address the underlying causes of their behaviour.
Bill C-231 is consistent with these fundamental principles of the youth criminal justice system, and the government intends to support it while proposing certain amendments in committee. In my view, this bill would benefit from certain amendments to better achieve its objectives.
For example, one of the changes proposed in Bill C‑231 would impose a new requirement for police officers to determine whether it would be appropriate to refer a young person, with their consent, to an addiction treatment program before initiating or pursuing legal proceedings. Bill C‑231 could be slightly expanded so that this requirement also applies to Crown prosecutors. This would further encourage the use of addiction treatment programs and referrals to those programs.
This approach would also be consistent with Bill C-16, the protecting victims act, which proposes to amend the Youth Criminal Justice Act to specify that prosecutors must consider extrajudicial measures before initiating or pursuing legal proceedings. This requirement already exists for police officers under section 6 of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
The YCJA also recognizes that diversion measures are often considered the most appropriate and effective solution for addressing youth crime. They allow for prompt and tailored interventions aimed at addressing the root causes of delinquent behaviour. Extending this requirement to the prosecutor could help further encourage the use of substance abuse treatment programs both before and after charges are laid.
That said, it is important for the youth justice system to adopt a targeted approach to diversion for drug-related offences. The offences for which police officers and prosecutors should be required to consider referral to a substance use treatment program should be simple possession offences. More specifically, they should be limited to the possession offences set out in subsection 4(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and subsection 8(1) of the Cannabis Act. This would align the proposed amendments to the YCJA with the diversion measures added to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act in 2022. More specifically, these measures include issuing a warning or referring the person, with their consent, to a program or organization that can help them. However, these measures may only be applied to persons suspected of having committed a simple possession offence.
The bill also proposes amending certain provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act to add guidelines and orders that apply exclusively to substance abuse treatment programs. This more restrictive approach carries certain risks. On the one hand, it could lead to unintended and adverse interpretations that might limit access to other types of treatment programs, particularly those focused on mental health or on behaviour modification and skills development.
One of the reasons this bill is so important is that it highlights the critical intersection between the criminal justice system and public health. However, public health issues are not limited to substance abuse. For example, in Canada, people living with mental health conditions are also overrepresented in the criminal justice system. For some of the proposed amendments, referring more broadly to treatment programs rather than solely to programs for addiction or substance abuse would allow the bill's objective to be maintained while avoiding the unintended exclusion of other important forms of treatment. For example, a broader approach would clarify that youth courts may defer sentencing to allow a youth to participate in various types of treatment programs, rather than limiting this option solely to substance abuse treatment programs.
Bill C‑231 pursues an important goal: to help young people struggling with problematic substance use access treatment programs so they can receive care rather than be punished by the justice system. It supports many of our election promises, with approaches that divert youth away from crime by providing urgent and immediate support to address the overdose crisis while protecting the public. For these reasons, the government is prepared to support this bill, while proposing certain amendments to strengthen its objectives and expand its scope.