Mr. Speaker, later today I will be distributing to Members copies of a comic book called, "A Case of the Stolen Video Game." The comic book was produced by the Arctic Public Legal Education and Information Society, with the financial support of the Department of Justice. The purpose of the 20-page comic book is to contribute to the education of young people on the various aspects of the criminal justice system, including the Young Offenders Act. It features two young characters named Jake and Leroy, who learn about the law through a series of mishaps and their encounters with the police and courts, as they borrow a vehicle without permission of the owner and later enter a friend's home without permission and leave with a video game, before being caught by the police and taken before the courts.
Publications such as these are important tools in the attempt of the Department of Justice and organizations such as the Arctic Public Legal Education and Information Society to make the justice system less alien and more meaningful in the lives of northerners. In this case a portion of the public has been targeted who are hard to reach by traditional means because of the high drop-out rate and low literacy skills. Youths under the age of 19 represent more than 40 per cent of the population of the north.
Copies being distributed today are one volume in both French and Inuktitut and a second volume in English and North Slavey. A total of 2,000 copies of the French and Inuktitut version will be printed along with 3,000 in North Slavey and English. Copies will be distributed to high schools throughout the Northwest Territories, including high schools with French classes, as well as youth centres and youth justice committees.
The Arctic Public Legal Education and Information Society is to be congratulated on their innovation. The Department of Justice is proud to have supported this project. Thank you.
---Applause