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International Handbook of Juvenile Justice pp 37–63Cite as

Canada's Juvenile Justice System: Promoting Community-Based Responses to Youth Crime

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Abstract

There have been profound changes in Canada's juvenile justice system during the century that it has been in existence, most recently when the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA)1 YCJA., S.C. 2002, c. 1. In force from 1 April 2003.came into force in April 2003. A major rationale for enacting the statute was to reduce Canada's high rate of custody for adolescent offenders, based on the belief that community-based responses are more effective for dealing with most young offenders. The YCJA continues to protect the legal rights of youth, such as access to counsel. This chapter discusses the evolution of Canada's juvenile justice system over the past two decades. It considers the policy concerns that led to the enactment of the YCJA and the impact that the new law is having. The new statute addresses some problems in youth justice that have been uncovered by empirical research, and is thus to a significant degree, evidence-driven. Where appropriate, we provide Canadian research findings relevant to the specific policy developments.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    YCJA., S.C. 2002, c. 1. In force from 1 April 2003.

  2. 2.

    Statistics Canada (2005), Youth Court Statistics 2003–04, Juristat, Vol. 25, No. 4, p. 3.

  3. 3.

    Juvenile Delinquents Act, first enacted as S.C. 1908, c. 40; subject to minor amendments over the years, finally as Juvenile Delinquents Act, R.S.C. 1970, c. J-3. Starting in the mid-19th century provincial governments began to enact legislation that provided for the confinement of children separate from adults in prisons and the establishment of juvenile reformatories.

  4. 4.

    YOA, R.S.C. 1985, c. Y-1, enacted as S.C. 1980–81–82–83, c. 110.

  5. 5.

    JDA, s. 38.

  6. 6.

    See, for example, Canada, Department of Justice, Report of the Committee on Juvenile Delinquency, Juvenile Delinquency in Canada (Ottawa: Queen's Printer, 1965).

  7. 7.

    Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, enacted as Part I of the Constitution Act, 1982, being Schedule B to the Canada Act, 1982 (UK), 1982, c. 11 (subsequently referred to as the Charter).

  8. 8.

    The youth homicide rate in Canada is one-sixth to one-tenth the rate in the USA; the lower rate in Canada is attributable to a number of factors; much stricter gun control in Canada is undoubtedly an important factor.

  9. 9.

    Canada has 10 provinces and 3 sparsely populated northern territories. Territorial governments have essentially the same responsibilities as provincial governments with regard to youth justice. For the sake of simplicity, references in this text are only to provincial governments.

  10. 10.

    See, for example, Québec (Ministere de la Justice) v Canada (Ministre de la Justice) (2003), 10 C.R. (5th) 281 (Que. C.A.); R. v. S.(S.) [1990] 2 S.C.R.254.,d B.C. (A.G.) v. S, (1967) S.C.R. 702.

  11. 11.

    See Canada, Department of Justice, The Youth Criminal Justice Act: Summary and Background. Ottawa: Department of Justice Canada, 2002; Canada, Department of Justice Canada, A Strategy for Youth Justice Renewal (Ottawa: Ministry of Supply and Services, 1998). Online March 2004 at http://canada.justice.gc.ca.

  12. 12.

    Canada, House of Commons, Thirteenth Report of the Standing Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs: Renewing Youth Justice (Ottawa: Ministry of Supply and Services, 1997).

  13. 13.

    Canada, Department of Justice Canada, A Strategy for Youth Justice Renewal(Ottawa: Ministry of Supply and Services, 1998). Online March 2004 at http://canada.justice.gc.ca.

  14. 14.

    Bill C-68, First Session, 36th Parliament, First Reading 11 March 1999.

  15. 15.

    Canada, Department of Justice, Press Release, 12 May 1999, remarks by (then) federal Justice Minister, Anne McLellan.

  16. 16.

    YCJA, s. 132.

  17. 17.

    YCJA, ss. 110 and 112.

  18. 18.

    YCJA, s. 146.

  19. 19.

    See YCJA, s. 25.

  20. 20.

    YCJA, ss. 3(1)(d)(iv), 26 and 42(1).

  21. 21.

    YCJA, s. 27.

  22. 22.

    Statistics Canada (2004), Youth Court Statistics 2002–03, Juristat, Vol. 24, No. 2.

  23. 23.

    Statistics Canada (2005), Youth Court Statistics 2003–04 Juristat, Vol. 25, No. 4.

  24. 24.

    YCJA, s. 4. Emphasis added.

  25. 25.

    YCJA, s. 6.

  26. 26.

    YCJA, s. 4(d).

  27. 27.

    YCJA, s. 119(2)(a).

  28. 28.

    YCJA, ss. 3(1)(d)(i) and 6(2).

  29. 29.

    See Re E.T.F. [2002] O.J. 4497 (Ont. Ct.J.); and R v T.M [1991] O.J. 1382 (Ont. Prov. Ct.).

  30. 30.

    R. v. B.W.P. [2004] M.J. 267 (C.A.); under appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.

  31. 31.

    R. v. B.V.N. [2004] B.C.J. 974 (B.C.C.A.); under appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.

  32. 32.

    R. v. B.R.S. [2003] S.J. 357, para. 24).

  33. 33.

    R. v. M.A.M., [2003] M.J. 464 (Man. C.A.); and [2004] B.C.J. 320 (B.C.C.A); R. v. B.L.M., [2003] Sask.J. 870 (Sask.C.A.).

  34. 34.

    R. v. B.L.M., [2003] Sask.J. 870 (Sask.C.A.).

  35. 35.

    YOA, s. 24(1).

  36. 36.

    Solicitor General Canada (2002), The Effects of Punishment on Recidivism. Corrections Research and Development, Vol. 7, No. 3.

  37. 37.

    Statistics Canada (2004), Youth Court Statistics 2002–03, Juristat, Vol. 24, No. 2.

  38. 38.

    YCJA, s. 42(8).

  39. 39.

    Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Youth Court Statistics 2001–02 (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, 2003), Juristat, Vol. 23, No. 3.

  40. 40.

    Québec (Ministere de la Justice) v Canada (Ministere de la Justice) (2003), 10 C.R. (5th) 281, [2003] Q.J. 2850 (C.A.). For a detailed discussion, see S. Anand and N. Bala (2003).

  41. 41.

    See, for example, “Fewer Youths Jailed Under New Law,” National Post, 18 July 2003, p. A1, reporting on the first 3 months of implementation, with a 24% decline in use of custody in Alberta and a 20% to 25% decline in Ontario. In Ontario, custody populations for Phase II youth (16–17 years) in the period 1 April 2003 to 31 January 2004 compared to the prior year: open custody admissions decreased 53%; secure custody admissions decreased 43%; secure detention admissions decreased 14% (Data provided by Ministry of Children's Services).

  42. 42.

    Statistics Canada (2005), Youth Court Statistics 2003–04, Juristat, Vol. 25, No. 4.

  43. 43.

    YCJA, s. 3(1)(c) and 3(1)(b)(ii).

  44. 44.

    YCJA, s. 38(1).

  45. 45.

    R. v. L.E.K., [2000] S.J. 844 (Sask C.A.), para. 20. To the same effect see, R. v. R.J.H., [2000] A.J. 396 (Alta C.A.).

  46. 46.

    Department of Justice Press Release, “Why New Youth Justice Legislation?” (February 2001).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Law at Queen's University, Kingston, Canada

    Nicholas Bala

  2. University of Ottawa, University of Oxford, Canada

    Julian V Roberts

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  1. Nicholas Bala
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  2. Julian V Roberts
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Josine Junger-Tas

  2. Arizona State University, USA

    Scott H. Decker

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Bala, N., Roberts, J.V. (2006). Canada's Juvenile Justice System: Promoting Community-Based Responses to Youth Crime. In: Junger-Tas, J., Decker, S.H. (eds) International Handbook of Juvenile Justice. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4970-6_2

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