Feds pass new youth justice law

A new law to replace the Young Offenders Act passed by the House of Commons this week will allow teens as young as 14 to be tried in adult court.

The old law permitted teens no younger than 16 to receive adult sentences in adult court.

The Youth Criminal Justice Act is part of a major restructuring of the youth justice system begun in 1998. It presumes that while young people must be held accountable for their crimes, they are more likely than adult offenders to be rehabilitated.

The new act also includes two provisions specific to aboriginal offenders. Section 3 states that measures taken against young offenders should “respect gender, ethnic, cultural and linguistic differences and respond to the needs of aboriginal young persons and of young persons with special requirements.”

The act gives provinces and territories flexibility in choosing options in some areas. It allows them to address unique needs of offenders.

A second aboriginal provision was added as an amendment by the Senate. It would allow courts to take cultural alternatives to incarceration into consideration.

The amendment reads: “all available sanctions other than custody that are reasonable in the circumstances should be considered for all young persons, with particular attention to the circumstances of aboriginal young persons.”