What did they mean by that? Researching the intent of legislation.

• Author: Mireau, Shaunna
• Position: On-Line law

Canada has a new Youth Criminal Justice Act. What is the intent of this legislation? What did the government hope to accomplish by revamping the law in the area? How do you go about finding out what the various governments in Canada are doing and why? These are the questions that keep librarians up at night.

Fortunately, we have a topic to research! To find information about the Youth Criminal Justice Act, or any information really, the best strategy is to go to the source. In this case, as usual, there is more than one source that we should check.

Because this is a piece of federal legislation, we need to sift through the Parliament of Canada website (www.parl.gc.ca). This site is complex and detailed, and in my opinion, difficult to use. In order to find background information on a topic that has been discussed in the various parts of a legislative process, we can always go to some specific sources. Since the Youth Criminal Justice Act is not a new-this-session piece of legislation, the easiest way to find a starting point is to use the search box at the top of the screen. We find links to the "as passed" version of the Act, although the search engine link puts you in the middle of the document. If we click on Table of Contents we can see a Summary of the Bill and the Recommendation for its creation.

Recommendation

Her Excellency the Governor General recommends to the House of Commons the appropriation of public revenue under the circumstances, in the manner and for the purposes set out in a measure entitled An Act in respect of criminal justice for young persons and to amend and repeal other Acts.

Summary

This enactment repeals and replaces the Young Offenders Act and provides principles, procedures and protections for the prosecution of young persons under criminal and other federal laws.

This enactment sets out a range of extrajudicial measures, establishes the judicial procedures and protections for young persons alleged to have committed an offence, encourages the participation of parents, victims, communities, youth justice committees and others in the youth justice system, sets out...