Conferencing: providing advice to decisionmakers.

• Author: Fugeman-Millar, Andrea
• Position: Feature on Youth Justice

Conferencing is a new section in the new Youth Criminal Justice Act that became effective on April 1st, 2003 across Canada. This section of the Act deserves a lot of attention from provincial youth justice court judges, presiding justices of the peace, child welfare workers, mental health workers; physicians, police, and prosecutors. These sections of the YCJA provide the decision-makers with the ability to get an informed picture of the life of the young person and factors that will influence the decision regarding sentencing. These sections of the Act also provide the decision-maker with a panoply of alternatives to consider with respect to pre-trial detention (bail denied), conditions upon release, extra-judicial measures, or sentencing.

Review of Applicable Sections of the YCJA

Section 2 of the YCJA defines the term "conference" as a "group of persons who are convened to give advice." This is a very general definition that provides the convener with a lot of room to decide which individuals and professionals can help with "giving advice to the decision maker." S. 19(1) of the YCJA describes the individuals that may convene a conference for "the purpose of making a decision required to be made under the Act." The individuals listed in the YCJA that may convene a conference are: a youth justice court judge, the provincial director, a police officer, a justice of the peace, a prosecutor, or a youth worker.

The purpose of the conference is very broadly defined in s. 19(2) of the YCJA, which favours creativity for the convener of the conference and the participants. S. 19(2) mandates that the conference may be called for the purpose of providing advice to the decision-maker regarding extra-judicial measures, conditions for judicial interim release, sentences, and reintegration plans. The wording of this section also allows for convening of hearings for "other things." It will be very interesting to see how far the courts are willing to allow this creativity of conferencing.

The broad definition and purpose of the conferencing should offer the decision-maker many tools that have traditionally not been present in the courtroom. Mental health professionals may be able to give the decision-maker the opportunity to replace custodial (jail-term) sentences with appropriate treatment "sentences" so that the young person can have the opportunity of recovery from or management of early-stage mental illness. Youth workers may be able to advise the...