Advocate wants feds to rethink proposed changes to Youth Justice Act

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OTTAWA - Child and youth advocate Bernard Richard calls proposed federal legislation to toughen up the Youth Criminal Justice Act a "knee-jerk reaction" to isolated instances of violent youth crime that had tragic consequences.

Bill C-25 contains just two significant changes, but they threaten to undermine existing legislation that provincial corrections officials have told him works well, says Richard.

The bill would allow a judge to order a youth to jail before a trial by finding the accused is a danger to the public or has previously broken conditions of release.

It also adds deterrence and denunciation to the principles of sentencing youth.

"Both changes run the risk of sending many more youths to jail, which is exactly the problem the Youth Criminal Justice Act was meant to fix," Richard argues.

"I would strongly urge Parliament to put bill C-25 on hold and to rethink its approach to this issue."

But Fundy-Royal MP Rob Moore, parliamentary secretary to Justice Minister Rob Nicholson, said the bill strikes a balance Canadians support.

Moore said the Conservatives have been funding programs to help keep youth from committing crimes, but is also explicitly targeting repeat offenders.

"Our No. 1 goal is that young people never get involved in crime, but where a person has repeatedly shown a disregard for the law and for the safety of other people, a government has to take firm action.

"That's the balance bill C-25 seeks to achieve."

The Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) stresses rehabilitation and the needs of youths charged with crimes. The considerable latitude it gives judges in sentencing has been a factor in lowering the number of young people who are incarcerated.

The Conservative government's changes are in step with recommendations issued in 2006 after a public inquiry in Nova Scotia.

The Nunn inquiry followed the widely-reported 2004 death of Theresa McEvoy, 52, who was killed in an car collision with a 16-year-old driving a stolen car. The repeat young offender had been released from custody two days earlier despite having 38 outstanding criminal charges against him.

Justice D. Merlin Nunn's report was critical of the YCJA for unduly restricting the jailing of youth before trial unless accused of a violent offence. He recommended expanding the criteria for pre-trial detention to include conduct that endangers or is likely to endanger another person's safety.