Abstract

Quebec’s response to the proposed changes in the legislative framework for dealing with young offenders in Canada highlights many of the questions raised in this special issue. Professionals in Quebec expressed their opposition to plans for replacing the Young Offenders Act (YOA) (Canada, 1982/1985) from the moment the proposed Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) (Canada, 2001) was first introduced by the federal minister of justice, Anne McLellan. They argued that a new law was unnecessary since any weaknesses of the YOA lay in its implementation rather than in the law it-self, as the Jasmin Report (Quebec, 1995) demonstrated. Instead of introducing a new law, governments would be better off spending money in other areas, such as public education and development of new resources at both ends of the correctional continuum.

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