moved that Bill C-37, an act to amend the Young Offenders Act and the Criminal Code, be read the second time and referred to a committee.
Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to introduce debate on second reading with respect to Bill C-37.
In beginning may I observe that last week the government took steps to improve the youth justice system in Canada, both in terms of immediate and long term changes to the justice system for young people. By introducing Bill C-37 the government addressed the very real public concerns about crimes of violence by youths in Canada.
The government recognizes the importance of public protection in the justice system, but it recognizes that protection of the public is best achieved through the rehabilitation of offenders wherever possible.
The government emphasized the accountability aspect of the justice system and at the same time, it fulfilled commitments it had given to the electorate last year during the election campaign.
All Canadians want to raise their children in safe and crime-free communities. But we do not always agree on the best way to reach our goal.
There is no miracle solution, no panacea. However, I believe that this bill represents a step in the right direction, a better way for the federal government to deal with young offenders, especially those guilty of serious offences.
I wish to touch upon the essential elements of Bill C-37 as I introduce second reading debate in this Chamber. As I do so, may I invite the attention of hon. members to the balancing aspects of the legislation, to the distinctions it draws between for example, violent and non-violent crime, and between young offenders in different parts of the age groups covered by the legislation. I ask hon. members to agree that those distinctions based on a rational assessment of risk and of need are an appropriate adjustment for the youth justice system in Canada.
I deal first with maximum penalties for murder. Bill C-37 would increase to 10 years in the case of first degree murder and to seven years in the case of second degree murder the maximum penalties in youth court for those convicted there of murder. This change is motivated by an acknowledgement on the part of this government that Canadians recognize that the present maximum penalty for first degree murder of five years is simply not sufficient to reflect society's abhorrence and condemnation of what is simply the most serious single criminal act.
By toughening up sentences, we give a clear indication to our young people that serious offences also have very serious consequences, whether they come before a youth court or an adult court.
The second significant change introduced by Bill C-37 has to do with those 16 and 17-year old young people who are charged with the most serious crimes of violence. The bill would adjust the present transfer provisions in dealing with those young persons so as to obligate them to satisfy the youth court judge that their trials should be held in youth court. Failure on the part of such persons to persuade the judge would result in their being
tried in adult court and facing the sanctions which the criminal law provides in adult court.
I ask members of the House to observe that this is not an automatic treatment of 16 and 17-year olds in the youth justice system. We do not favour an automatic transfer of people in that age group. Rather it is simply a reverse onus for the test on transfer that exists at present, obligating those persons of that age when charged with the proscribed crimes to bear the burden of persuading the youth court judge that they should remain in the youth court.
The offences in respect of which this changed onus applies are: murder in the first and second degree; attempted murder; manslaughter; aggravated sexual assault; and aggravated assault. Simply, it applies to the most serious crimes of personal violence in the code.
Our purpose in proposing this change to the transfer provision is to reflect the belief of this government that when alleged offenders at the highest ages of the age range covered by the act are accused of crimes of the most serious violence, then they should bear the burden of establishing their entitlement to be tried and sentenced in youth court.
The third change to which I would draw the attention of the House has to do with victim impact statements. As I met with victims and their families over the last several months, I was impressed with the extent to which such persons want to have a role in the administration of criminal justice, particularly youth justice, that permits an acknowledgement of their pain and their loss. By introducing in youth court the same opening for the filing of victim impact statements in the sentencing process as exists at present in criminal courts generally, we will extend that right to victims and their families.
The next change of significance has to do with the sharing of information. The changes we propose will enable peace officers and the provincial director for youth justice and other appropriate authorities to share with school boards, schools or other institutions or agencies, information about young people involved in the criminal justice system.
The current provisions have had the unintended result of impeding the communication and sharing of information between experts working with young offenders, such as police officers and school authorities.
I have been persuaded from my meetings with members of police forces, school board trustees, high school principals, worried parents, indeed young people themselves, that the structure and the scheme in place at present often works against the kind of partnerships we need in society to deal with the threat of youth crime, to deal more effectively with protecting students and staff and others when young people are prone to violence. The changes we propose will enable the sharing of information responsibly so as to overcome that structural difficulty.
The new system proposed in Bill C-37 will require the recipient of information, for example the principal or the official in the school, to keep that information private. It will be shared only with those with whom it must be shared for the purpose of putting precautions in place. It will be kept separate on file from the educational record of the young person, and then the information will be destroyed when the young person has left the jurisdiction, for example of the school board.
The next change to which I wish to refer has to do with the way in which Bill C-37 affects the manner in which the courts respond to non-violent crime by those covered by the Young Offenders Act.
Adolescents who are guilty of minor infractions should assume concrete responsibility for their acts and repair the damage done to their community whenever possible.
For us the emphasis should be and must be upon non-jail sentences for young offenders who commit non-violent crimes.
Some 10 years ago, when the Young Offenders Act was drafted, introduced, debated, enacted and proclaimed, the stated expectation was that the emphasis for young people caught up in the criminal justice system would be on community based, positive, rehabilitative dispositions so that they were not sent to custody and nothing more. The emphasis was to be on restorative justice so that young persons who made mistakes would be punished and corrected but could learn from it through a community based program involving supervision to get them back on track.
For the most part that promise has not been fulfilled. In fact the level and extent of custody as a sentence for young offenders are vastly higher than first expected. Over 30 per cent of those young offenders found guilty in youth court receive a sentence involving custody. Over half those in custody are there for non-violent crime.
Studies establish the outcomes for those held in custody are not as good as for those who are not. At the same time the cost of custody vastly outweighs the cost of other dispositions. Over $350 million a year is spent in the youth justice system on the costs of custody nation-wide.
The federal government which contributes $160 million a year to youth justice finds that $130 million of that sum goes to help defray the cost of custody. The Department of Justice estimates that it costs somewhere between $70,000 and $100,000 a year to keep a young person in custody.
Surely the direction we must take is that plotted by Bill C-37 in this respect which emphasizes that in cases involving non-violent crime jail as a penalty must be a last resort. The emphasis in that direction flowing from the bill arises by the provisions that require those who prepare reports about young offenders, predisposition reports for example, to explain if they are recommending a custody term why all other dispositions are inappropriate. They call upon the judge sentencing the young offender to resort to custody only when other dispositions are not appropriate. Then they call upon the judge to state the reasons, if custody is the sentence, why other dispositions are not appropriate or available.
If we shift the focus through these changes in the statutory framework and if we follow up on this initiative in working with our partners in the provinces to ensure community based dispositions are there in a meaningful way, we will surely turn the page to a better day for youth justice in the country.
We encourage community based dispositions in the statute. These changes will advance that encouragement. Hopefully the money saved with the reduction in custody costs can be devoted toward the development, the funding and the administration of positive and helpful community based dispositions for non-violent young offenders.
Let me now turn to the question of records.
Through this bill, we are proposing changes, for example, to the provisions on offenders' records. These amendments will facilitate the difficult work of police officers who conduct inquiries concerning these offences, and they will enable authorities to retain for a longer period the criminal record of young offenders who are found guilty of serious crimes.
Surely the provisions with respect to records in Bill C-37 reflect common sense. Those young offenders who are convicted of minor infractions or the less serious offences for the first time should have their records kept for a shorter period so as not to stigmatize them or interfere with efforts to advance their education or their employment. At the same time those who commit serious offences should have their records retained for a longer period, and in the most serious offences some forever.
Those are some of the principal changes proposed in Bill C-37. I also emphasize that the bill must be seen in the context of the general parliamentary review we have initiated through my letter last week to the chair of the House Standing Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs, the hon. member for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.
In that letter I asked the chair of the standing committee, after considering and reporting to Parliament with respect to the bill, to undertake a comprehensive review of the Young Offenders Act and of the youth justice system in Canada in general; to look at present social circumstances; to examine our experience with the Young Offenders Act during the past 10 years; to engage Canadians in the discussion; to hear from a wide spectrum of persons with experience with the act; to examine how the youth justice system in general could be improved; to look at the cost, the purpose and the principles of the present act; to determine how to weave our priority for crime prevention into the system; to comment on how the youth justice system should reflect the changes we are considering in connection with special program review, on how we can get parents more involved in juvenile justice, and on how best to restore and enhance public confidence in the youth justice system.
Mr. Speaker, this review is essential, to allow for a more thorough examination of other aspects of the act and to get the public's reaction on juvenile delinquency in general.
It is essential that Canadians be involved in the process of reassessing this statute. As I made clear in my letter to the chair of the standing committee, I want the committee to look at fundamental issues surrounding the present act including the ages to which the statute applies and how best to deal with repeat offenders.
At the same time I tell the House there will be a parallel process in place involving the provinces and territories so we will have the views of our provincial and territorial partners in the process and we can look together at questions like cost sharing because they have the responsibility for administering the statute and we must be sensitive to their views.
I should also tell the House I have asked the standing committee to report on the second phase of its work by February 1 next. I have given the chair my assurance that the government will respond quickly to the recommendations the committee may sees fit to make.
Therefore, Mr. Speaker, the government firmly believes that these changes will provide adequate flexibility to provinces, so that each will be able to administer and implement the act while taking into account its own specific situation.
We believe the changes we have proposed, the distinctions we have drawn and the emphasis we have selected meet the imperative of public protection while preserving the fundamental principles of the statute and enhancing juvenile justice in the country.
I commend the bill to the House.
