Mr. Speaker, last week I met with my federal, provincial and territorial counterparts to discuss the upcoming review of the Youth Criminal Justice Act and the proposed amendments currently before Parliament. This federal law applies when a young person aged 12–17 is alleged to have committed a crime.
The act is intended to promote the long-term protection of society. It does this by addressing young offenders’ underlying issues that contribute to offending behaviour. It is intended to rehabilitate young persons and reintegrate them into society and provides meaningful consequences for their offences.
Although the act successfully manages the majority of youth in conflict with the law, there is growing concern in all parts of Canada that it is unable to address the needs of some violent youth and repeat youth offenders.
The federal government has announced that a full review of the act will begin this year. My colleagues and I agree that while we recognize that the act works appropriately for a majority of youth offenders, there is significant concern that makes a review both timely and necessary.
For some time provinces and territories have recommended changes to permit greater ability for courts to order pretrial detention. Specifically, we believe we need a new way to deal with youth who commit multiple non-violent offences, such as repeated snowmobile thefts.
My counterparts and I have been concerned that the federal government’s proposed amendments do not go far enough to allow out-of-control youth to be detained before their trials. Here in the Northwest Territories several community leaders have contacted me to say that the Youth Criminal Justice Act needs to be more flexible to meet the needs of all of our youth. It works well in most cases, but we need to be able to deal with out-of-control teenagers in a better way.
I am pleased that the federal government took the opportunity to hear from all jurisdictions on these important topics. They heard that the changes to the act that they have proposed in Bill C-25 missed the mark. The federal government has indicated that they may consider amendments to this bill to better respond to provincial and territorial concerns. They acknowledged the importance of partnerships in the delivery of youth justice and are listening to our priorities.
While the details of the review of the Youth Criminal Justice Act have yet to be announced, I am certain that last week’s early discussions will inform the federal government’s decisions on priorities and how to proceed.
I plan to remain actively engaged in this review as it moves forward so that the views and perspectives of the N.W.T. are well represented and any changes to the Youth Criminal Justice Act respond to the needs of our communities and our youth. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
