| Miss 的个人资料Red's wacky fun world照片日志列表 |  工具  帮助 |
|
6月23日 I stand corrected!After a bit of research who knew that the man who is our Justice Minister was a lawyer.....how his thought process has led to his distain for youth is beyond me? I guess he just doesn't get kids...or youth for that matter...and the hard nose approach just doesn't work all the time! Well I've found my new targetMr. Harper you make it so easy for a person of my intelligence to write about your government. I think my new found interest is not in you Mr. Harper--not that you will ever be too far from my thoughts--but in your very own Justice Minister Vic Toews.
Mr. Toews said he is concerned that the Supreme Court appears to have stated that deterrence is no longer a principle of sentencing.
This was his thoughts after the Supreme Court of Canada made up of judges who have practiced law for many years including overseeing courtrooms on various levels made the decision that youth crime in it's very nature does not need the custody based approach to deterring youth from engaging in criminal activity.
I wonder if this man was ever a teenager? First he wants to raise the age of sexual consent to 16 and now he wants to put kids in jail for crimes that generally are kids just getting caught doing stupid stuff. I'm not saying that kids who commit violent acts should not be held accountable for their actions but the vast majority of crimes before the youth courts are for minor things. It's only the media's high coverage of the violent crimes that make it appear to be more than average.
"Accountability and responsibility for serious crimes needs to be enforced in our youth justice system." And Mr. Toews this is addressed in the YCJA. Youth who do commit serious crimes can be charged as adults. However using the adult sentance approach is not enforced often and nor should it be. Using an adult sentance should only occur in very serious criminal activities like the two young ladies who killed their mother in Mississauga. Those two ladies will be getting an adult sentance as they should for their crimes as they show no remorse for their actions and the planning that took place in order to carry out their activity is enough to warrant the adult sentance. The Supreme Court ruling is not questioning the sentances that are enforced but if holding kids in jails is a viable means of detering further criminal activity. What the Supreme court ruling recognizes is that young offenders should be treated differently than adult offenders. They recognize that the YCJA is moving towards a more restorative justice approach instead of an incarceration. As such it is asking the courts not to place kids in custody as a deterrent to further criminal activity. The restorative approach also holds kids accountable for their actions. Justice circles are a key component to the approach. By having kids face their victims they are held accountable to those people and they must take responsibility for their actions. It also makes kids accountable to their community. Restorative justice is all about community and the connections one has with their community. So how is this ruling a bad ruling I ask Mr. Toews? Mr. Toews noted that the Conservative government has promised to review the youth justice legislation. There is no need to review the youth justice act. The act is still young. It's only been enacted since April 1st, 2003. Give it time to get the glitches out. It's a more progressive approach to dealing with youth criminal activity and reviewing it would be a throw back to a time when young offenders were treated as adults. After reading the book I did on boot camps--especially those in the US--I am only encouraged to fight harder for youth and Mr. Toews you are my spark underneath this fire. 6月22日 Oh those Silly ConservativesOh Harper Oh Harper.....how a fool you appear. I wonder oh wonder how in the hell you choose your cabinet ministers?? Vic Toews is an old fuddy duddy who doesn't get the law yet you place him in a very law oriented posting. If the man really understood the law than maybe the moron would not be introducing a Bill that is a "feel good" Bill.
Victor Toews is introducing a Bill in the house of commons that is redundant. He plans to introduce a Bill that would raise the age of sexual consent to 16. Most Canadians are un-aware that the current age of consent is 14. They are also un-aware of the laws out there that protect the youth from predators.This Bill that is being tabled is nothing but media ratings for the Conservatives and no one with a smart brain is going to buy into the crap they are trying to put forward. Or so one would hope.
"More and more, ordinary Canadians are concerned about the growing problem of child
sexual predators, especially in the Internet age. They have looked to this government to take whatever steps it can to address the issue."--Vic Toews Does he truly think we are idiots. Yes we are concerned about child sexual predator problems but do you really think that raising the age of consent is going to curb that? How is raising the age of consent to 16 going to effectively stop sexual predators? Unfortunately sexual predators will always be around even if the age of consent is raised.
Now I'm not saying it shouldn't be raised, however I understand youth and their sexuality. I understand them because I work with youth on a daily basis and I have to educate youth about healthy sexuality. Raising the age of consent will only criminalize their normal sexual development. The Bill being tabled has the "near-age excemption of 5 years" clause. However, this is a moot point. The reason for this clause is so that someone say the age of 14 could be in a sexual relationship with someone who is 19. As stated earlier it's a moot point as the bill already protects kids who are similar in peer age. Youth who are 14 years of age engaging in a sexual relationship with their peers is fine by the letter of the law but if that peer is in a position of power than they can be charged with a sexual offence. That means it can target pimps and music teachers and mentors and who ever else is in a position of power. The law already works to protect youth from exploitation.
There are also laws to protect against internet luring and child pornography. So how is raising the age of consent going to protect even further? If anything it's going to criminalize normal teenage sexual behaviour because a conservative government is more afraid of youth having sex than with the increasing violence. What is sooo wrong in this day and age with normal healthy adolescent sexual behaviour? Why would you want to criminalize the behaviour. By criminalizing the behaviour you send it underground. By sending it underground you increase the statistics on teenage pregnancies and STD's. What our tax paying dollars should go on instead of waisting it on a law that is a "feel good" law is educating youth about healthy sexuality. By educating youth you give them informed choices. With informed choices you give better statistics. You also increase the likelihood that those informed choices include waiting until they are older. Besides while there is a small minority of youth out there who have engaged in sexual intercourse before the age of 16 the average youth waits until at least 16 to loose their virginity.
So I ask again Mr. Harper where oh where do you pick you Ministers? How is this man still Prime Minister? Most importantly how is it that other Parties have bought into this mumble jumble of a ratings fest for the Conservatives? Why are they not challenging them on this issue? How is the media not educating people on the already exhisting laws? Do I have to do everything myself??? Unfortantely it is looking to be the case. 6月11日 World Cup ActionSo the games have begun. I get just as excited about this game as I do with the Olympics. Again a great series that only happens every 4 years. I like that we get to cheer it on every 4 years.
So far my England has one their match but not with a score from their own players but from a mistake from a player on the other team. Got to love mistakes.
So of course my self being a girl of British decent I will be cheering on England, however Bailey being half Dutch(her father being 100% Dutch) she's cheering on both teams.
So for me GO ENGLAND GO
and for Bay GO NEDERLANDS GO
6月1日 Help at any costI'm reading this book right now, entitled "Help at any cost--How the troubled teen industry cons parents and hurts kids". So far it's been an interesting book. It talks about the "tough love" approach that has been around in the US for some time and how unqualified the staff in these programs are and how much damage the kids endure as a result.
It's funny that at this moment in time I am reading this book and on Primetime Live there is a program on about the foster care in the US. It's interesting to read up on this stuff.
I guess this is really my calling. As I read this book I only become more angered and as I work with the kids that I do I can't help but get frustrated and want to get the progams rolling that I know can be much more beneficial. Hence me getting much more active with programs and initiating the process to get them out there into the general public.
SO that's where I'm at lately with work.
On the personal note, only a few more months and Peter and I will be living together. This is a big step for me as I've never lived with a male who wasn't a friend. Not to say Pete isn't a friend because he is but he's def much more than that. I feel good about this move and I'm looking forward to it.
Bailey is doing well too. She's getting to be quite the tween. She's way more girlie than I ever was. It's interesting to see how she is developing. I love it. It's great watching a child grow. |
|
|
