TORONTO, March 3, 2008—DCI-Canada today released its position paper on Bill C-25, An Act to Amend the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Bill C-25 was introduced in the House of Commons on November 19, 2007 by the Honourable Rob Nicholson, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. Bill C-25 passed second reading on February 4, 2008 and was referred to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights.
Bill C-25 makes two changes to the Youth Criminal Justice Act. First, it changes the criteria for pre-trial detention, making it easier to detain a larger number of young people before trial. Second, it introduces two new sentencing principles: denunciation and deterrence.
DCI-Canada is concerned that both of these changes represent a move away from a child rights based and evidence based approach to youth justice policy in Canada. Our submission to the Standing Committee on Justice on Human Rights draws on international child rights standards for youth justice policy, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the U.N. Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (the “Beijing Rules”) and the U.N. Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (the “Riyadh Guidelines”).
Our submission makes six recommendations to the Committee and to the Government of Canada.
DCI-Canada’s Submission on Bill C-25
(February 29, 2008) (468 KB / 34 pages)
