YCJA Case Study

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Question A

The federalist division of power in Canada refers to the division of legislative authority between the federal government and the provincial governments, which delineates which levels of government have jurisdiction over certain areas of legislation (Constitution Act, 1982, s. 91-92). The Canadian Parliament enacted the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) in 2003 as a set of federal laws to govern the youth justice system across the country (Bala, Carrington, & Roberts, 2009). Although the YCJA is a federal law, the provinces and territories maintain responsibilities for its implementation in meeting the objectives of this legislation (Bala, Carrington, & Roberts, 2009). This means that, while the YCJA establishes treatment guidelines …show more content…
The purposes of sentencing under the YCJA in Canada are distinct from those applicable to adult offenders, reflecting the fundamental differences between youth and adults and the overarching principles of the justice system. Specifically, section 38 (1) of the Youth Criminal Justice Act (2002) articulates that: “the purpose of sentencing under section 42 (youth sentences) is to hold a young person accountable for an offence through the imposition of just sanctions that have meaningful consequences for the young person and that promote his or her rehabilitation and reintegration into society, thereby contributing to the long-term protection of the public”. Firstly, accountability requires that the sentence be long enough to reflect the seriousness of the offence and the offender's role in it (R. v. A.O., 2007, para. 78. 50). The syllable of the syllable. An accountable sentence with meaningful consequences considers “the moral culpability of the offender, having regard to the intentional risk-taking of the offender, the consequential harm caused by the offender, and the normative character of the offender’s conduct” (R. v. A.O., 2007, para. 78. 46. The syllable of the syllable. Moreover, “meaningful consequences” indicates that the consequences should be meaningful for the individual youth, given their unique needs and earlier developmental stage (R. v. A.O., 2007, para. 78. 43). The syllable of the syllable. Similar to adults, the proportionality principle also requires the sentence be the least restrictive as possible (R. v. D.B, 2008, para. 30). The adage of the adage. Fair and proportionate accountability in sentencing aligns with the increased dependence and lower maturity level of young persons (Youth Criminal Justice Act, 2002, s 3). Indeed, youth are not considered “less accountable” than adults for their actions, but are rather “differently accountable” (R. v. D.B, 2008, para. 1). 93). The 'Standard' is a 'Standard'. In this context, the aim of
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