NCJ Number
70329
Journal
Canadian Journal of Family Law Volume: 2 Issue: 1 Dated: (1979) Pages: 7-32
Date Published
1979
Length
26 pages
Annotation
The trend and implications of Canadian provincial governments' attempts to rectify anomalies of the Juvenile Delinquents Act and to reclaim their jurisdiction in the juvenile field are examined.
Abstract
Highlighting diversion and labeling theories, this article reviews legislative and political trends in Canadian juvenile justice policy. Innovative programs in Ontario, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Quebec are outlined. Criticism of the Juvenile Delinquents Act question the validity and wisdom of court prosecution of very young children; the minimal restrictions on the committal of children to training schools which permit punitive sentencing practices; and the all-encompassing definition of delinquency which does not require that the juvenile court disposition relates to the seriousness of the child's antisocial behavior. In light of the Hamilton-Wentworth study's finding that the federal legislation and the Juvenile Services Project are both based on tenuous assumptions of the desirablitiy of diversion programs and that such implementations could prove both costly and futile, and alternative 'radical nonintervention' policy is suggested. Because of the changing political climate in Canada, the content of federal policy is becoming more general, providing a broad framework for which the provincial legislatures supply details. The provinces, greater responsiveness to and responsibility to the problems of juvenile justice. Over 100 footnotes are appended.