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Introduction

Thank you Morris for that kind introduction.

It’s wonderful for me to look out and see so many talented and committed people, from so many different sectors of society come together to work on the crucial issues of child victimization and child offending.

Many of you are leaders in your field and we are privileged to have you with us. Child welfare advocates. Front-line workers. Police. Educators. Researchers. Members of the legal profession. Voluntary organizations. All of you bring a wealth of experience to the discussions at hand on a most serious subject. And, I know that all of us share a deep sense of responsibility for assuring the well-being of children in our society.

Putting Children First

This is also the central reason why the Government of Canada is hosting this event. We recognize that as a society we have a special responsibility towards our children ¾ to protect them, to nurture them and to prepare them to reach their full potential as adults.

Children are a priority for our government. Whether it’s through the National Children’s Agenda, or other initiatives, such as our Youth Justice Renewal Strategy or our action plan for Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples, our goal is to work with Canadians and families everywhere to create a society that places children first.

Prevention and Protection

Why are we discussing child offending and child victimization at the same conference? Because, as many of you know, often they are two sides of the same coin. They share many of the same root causes, such as poverty, substance abuse, poor parenting and a family history of violence and suffering.

They also share many of the same solutions. As a complex social challenge, they both call for a coordinated, multi-sectoral response. There is no "one size fits all solution" to either of these problems.

I’d like to take a moment to read you an excerpt from the London Times of 1828. On September 6th, 171 years ago, the Times reported the following:

I suppose there is a certain grim humour in this story, depicting the tenacity of a cherub-faced urchin trying to survive in the streets of London. But, we are not here to be amused or to sentimentalize the reality of this picture, no matter how long ago it was. "The iron grip of the law" ¾ as it was described in the paper ¾ that clutched children at that time was cruel by today’s standards. It was also ineffective. Little Charles Smith continued to ply his trade even while under arrest.

To me, this story highlights the importance of bringing the justice system into the game early — to warn and to prevent. As you know, there is an increasing body of knowledge that tells us we need to peel back the layers to discover what causes children to act out against society in the first place.

Wherever possible, we need to look at the root causes of their actions and to use all the means we have, at hand, to respond to the needs of the child. And this holds true whether we are speaking about children as offenders or as victims. Early intervention is also the best means of protection from abuse.

How can we best help the Charles Smiths of today? How can we best protect and respond to children who suffer abuse at the hands of others? These are the questions we have come together to work on over the next few days. We will not find all the answers right away. But ¾ whether our background is in child psychology, legal policy, policing protocols, or community services ¾ troubled children across the country are our concern.

And, what will happen at this conference is that our eyes will be opened to new possibilities. Best practices, new approaches, shared experience will yield results for children and their families.

The Government of Canada’s Response: Community Action and Justice Reform

For our part, the government of Canada has placed these issues high on the Justice agenda. In 1998, when we introduced the Youth Justice Renewal Strategy, we made a commitment to work with the provinces on ways we can respond more effectively to the challenge of child offenders under 12. This conference is a step in that process.

At the same time we have been working at ways we can do more to protect children from victimization and exploitation ¾ whether this be through modifications to the Criminal Code or through other more collaborative responses aimed at making the justice system ¾ and the community as a whole ¾ more responsive to these children’s needs.

As Minister of Justice, I am keenly aware that now is a time for innovative thinking in these areas. These two large and complex challenges have been with us for a long time. They will not go away overnight. As I said earlier, we must go beyond the narrow response of the law. These problems call for a broad spectrum of interventions. And they call for the involvement of all sectors of society ¾ particularly at the community level.

This is where our National Strategy on Community Safety and Crime Prevention holds promise. This $32 million initiative is using a social development approach to work with communities across the country ¾ including ethnocultural communities ¾ to address the underlying causes of crime.

Domestic violence and violence against children are two key priorities, as are initiatives that promote safety in Aboriginal communities. And we are establishing grass roots responses, tailored to needs identified by those communities. At the same time, the National Strategy is playing a leadership role in bringing together information about innovative crime prevention practices and making this knowledge readily accessible to others who wish to put it to use.

Let me give you just one example of the kind of program supported by the Strategy’s Crime Prevention Investment Fund.

The Kwanlin Dun Healthy Families Program provides pre-school children, and their families, in a remote First Nations community in the Yukon with integrated health, education and social support. Children who have witnessed violence in their homes, or whose parents are adult offenders, are referred to the program by police and corrections officials. Families participating in the program receive culturally appropriate support, information and skills to reduce child abuse, neglect and domestic violence.

The goals of the program are to improve family coping skills, promote positive parenting skills, and enhance parent/child interaction.

Why the emphasis on community-based solutions? Because communities are often in a better position than the formal justice system to give a troubled child or young offender the kind of support he or she needs to turn things around.

But what should we do when children under 12 do commit serious acts that would be offences if they were older? One of the purposes of this conference is to address ourselves to this question. We need to lay the groundwork for a national strategy to deal with serious offending by children under twelve. And, the government of Canada is committed to doing this — together with the provinces, territories and other partners in the voluntary sector.

Usually, child offending can be dealt with informally by parents and the community. But, when a more formal approach is needed, child welfare or mental health systems can help by providing therapeutic services that are appropriate to a particular child’s age and family. A key question for us at this conference is how can we encourage collaborative approaches that improve the effectiveness of both our informal and formal responses to child offending?

What are the risk factors associated with under 12 offending? What are the most promising and effective programs in the country? What are appropriate police policies for children under 12?

And what about when children become victims? What do we do when social supports break down and social trusts are violated? These children need our care and support. Many of you here are leading the way in providing this kind of assistance.

But these children also need a justice system that works for them. They need our commitment to continue to work for improvement and innovation in this area. Certainly, the voice of victims, including child victims, has been given greater resonance as a result of recent legislative changes.

Can we find ways to improve the exchange of information between agencies dealing with children at risk? The answer is ‘yes’. Are there ways in which the Criminal Code can respond more effectively to the needs of child victims? The role of the Criminal Code is to support provincial and territorial efforts to protect children, by targetting extreme forms of harm. Together we need to look at lesser violations, which also cause long-term emotional and physical harm?

How do we respond to some of the more subtle forms of child abuse and exploitation? The Department of Justice has already taken steps to ensure that we can work together on practical issues to protect children from harm. And of course, I’m hoping this conference will provide us with valuable input.

We will also be releasing a consultation paper on child victims and the criminal justice system. The paper will examine some of the most pressing issues and set out options for change. Areas being considered include the provisions relating to children’s testimony and the definition of specific offences against children, including physical and emotional abuse, neglect and homicide. Most importantly, however, the paper will launch a consultation process to seek the opinions of government officials, interested organizations, individuals and professionals dealing with children.

Conclusion

These are all steps in the right direction. But much more needs to be done. There will be no "quick fix" to the problems we are discussing. For example, a social development approach to crime prevention yields long-term results. To be effective, it requires a sustained effort and broad-based support. Everyone in the community ¾ and at every level of society ¾ has a role to play in making it work.

As you prepare for the presentations and workshops that will take place over the next few days, I would leave you with the commitment that, the work undertaken at this conference is but a beginning. Already we are setting our sights on the next phase - that is to seek input from the various regions. It is our intention throughout the fall and into next spring to hold similar regional conferences that will build upon the work begun here.

With so much talent and expertise gathered here at this Conference, we have a great opportunity to make real progress. We are all here to help children. Every child deserves to have a fair start on life ¾ to be nurtured, cared for, and protected from harm. Every child deserves to live in a safe home and a caring community. Let’s work together to show all children that they are indeed part of a community ¾ and a country ¾ that cares for them.

Thank you.

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