Script

D: Ok so this first slide is a bar graph showing recent youth crime rates in Canada. The province with the most youth crime is Manitoba. The province with the least youth crime is Quebec. K: Moving on to the next slide. Prior to the Youth Criminal Justice Act, there were two other acts that were created to deal with criminal youth. The Juvenile Delinquents Act, D: And the Young Offenders Act. K: The Juvenile Delinquents Act of 1908 stated that underage offenders would not be treated as criminals but as delinquents that needed structure and support. Sentences included no penalty at all, fines, probation, being put in the Children's Aid Society, and a commitment to training school. The sentences however, did not necessarily always fit the crime. An offender who violated a minor provincial law could be sentenced to training school for a length of time if the judge thought it was necessary to change his or her delinquent condition. D: The Young Offenders Act, unlike the Juvenile Delinquents Act of 1908, focuses on the responsibility of young persons for consequences of their behaviour. The same sentences given to adults were given to youth. Provincial offences were dealt with under provincial legislation. Sentencing for the youth must have fit the crime as it would for adults. K: The Youth Criminal Justice Act or YCJA replaced the Young Offenders Act on April 1st 2003. The act gives the youth different treatment because of the following factors. Increased level of dependency, the fact that the young brain is not fully matured, and the fact that as a youth, the person would not be fully developed mentally. D: The Youth Criminal Justice Act was put into place because Stephen Harper didnt think that the previous Act was hard enough on young offenders. When his conservative party was elected into power, he wanted sever changes to be made. He wanted it so that when a young person committed a serious offense, they were punished but also rehabilitated. This was for the well being of the criminal, but also for the safety of all Canadians. K: The Youth Criminal Justice Act sentencing system follows these guidelines. The sentences given to a youth must : Not more severe than what an adult would get for the same crime, similar to youth sentences given in similar youth cases, and in line with the seriousness of the crime and the degree of your responsibility for the crime.

D: What must also be considered is: The degree of participation, the harm afflicted to the victim, whether the harm was intentional or reasonably foreseeable, previous charges and any other aggravating circumstances. K: Changes or amendments we would make are as follows. We would release the name of the youth depending on the severity of the crime committed. For example, if a youth committed a first-degree murder, then the name of said offender would be released. This is because not releasing the name would be harming Canadians rights to protection and safety. D: Another amendment we would make is as follows. The severity of the punishment would be decided depending on the severity of the crime and whether or not said youth would have any chance of rehabilitation or not. Also, we would not restrict the punishment of the youth because of age. For example, we say that if a youth was able to make the decisions to plan a murder, said youth is able to handle a fair punishment. K: We agree with the way the Youth Criminal Justice Act handles young offenders. This is because the Youth Criminal Justice Act takes into consideration the seriousness of the crime and the rights of Canadians. We believe that this is the fairest and most sensible way to deal with young offenders in Canada.

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