Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, that Bill 26, Youth Justice Act, be read for the second time.
Mr. Speaker, this bill provides for a youth justice system that would apply to young persons charged with committing offences under Northwest Territories enactments and municipal bylaws. The new system would correspond to the federal youth criminal justice system set out in the new federal Youth Justice Act, which applies to young persons charged with offences under the Criminal Code and other federal legislation.
The bill provides for committees of citizens, called youth justice committees, to be designated to assist in the administration of the bill or in programs or services for young persons. The bill also provides for groups of persons, called conferences, to be convened to make decisions in particular cases of young persons charged with territorial offences.
The bill provides for extrajudicial measures that may, where appropriate and having regard to principles stated in the bill, be used instead of judicial proceedings to deal with a young person who is alleged to have committed an offence. Extrajudicial measures include warnings, cautions, referrals and more formal measures called extrajudicial sanctions. Where a young person is made subject to extrajudicial sanctions, but fails to comply with the sanctions, judicial proceedings may be taken.
The bill also provides for summary judicial proceedings against young persons charged with committing territorial offences. The bill sets out the types of youth sentence that a youth justice court may impose on a young person who is convicted or found guilty of a territorial offence. The bill provides that where a young person is convicted or found guilty of an offence under a territorial law, the period of custody may not exceed six months and is to be served only in open custody.
The bill would replace the Young Offenders Act and make consequential amendments to several other statutes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.