An Act to amend the Youth Criminal Justice Act

Bill C-231 makes changes to the Youth Criminal Justice Act to give police, prosecutors, and youth justice courts more explicit tools to direct young people toward treatment for problematic substance use (and other treatment needs) as part of the youth justice process. It requires a police officer, when a young person is alleged to have committed certain drug or cannabis possession offences, to consider referring that young person, with their consent, to a substance use treatment program instead of pursuing other measures. It also allows "extrajudicial sanctions" (informal resolutions outside of a full court sentence) to include a requirement to attend such a treatment program.

The bill further allows a youth justice court, after finding a young person guilty but before sentencing, to delay imposing the sentence so the young person can complete a substance use or other treatment program, provided both the young person and the Attorney General agree. Courts must also take into account any such program participation when deciding on a youth sentence. In addition, treatment program attendance can now be included as a specific condition in certain court orders, including orders related to community programs, judicial interim release (bail-like conditions), and conditional supervision after custody.

Finally, the bill includes a coordinating provision: if a separate bill (Bill C-16, the "Protecting Victims Act") also becomes law, a matching change will be made so that prosecutors, like police, must consider referring a young person to substance use treatment for the same drug and cannabis offences. Most of these changes take effect 30 days after the bill receives royal assent, except for that coordinating provision, which depends on the other bill's passage.

This bill amends the Youth Criminal Justice Act to let police, prosecutors, and youth justice courts direct young persons toward substance use treatment programs at various stages of the youth justice process, including extrajudicial sanctions, sentencing, and conditional supervision orders.

• Police discretion — when a young person is alleged to have committed a drug or cannabis possession offence, the police officer must consider referring them, with consent, to a problematic substance use treatment program instead of other measures.
• Extrajudicial sanctions — a young person's extrajudicial sanction may now include a requirement to attend a problematic substance use treatment program or "any other treatment program," a term left undefined in the bill.
• Delayed sentencing — a youth justice court may delay sentencing to allow a young person to attend a treatment program, but only with the consent of both the Attorney General and the young person.
• Court orders and conditions — courts may attach treatment program attendance as a condition to non-residential program orders (capped at 240 hours over six months), to orders under section 55, and to conditions of conditional supervision under section 105.
• Coordinating amendment — if a separate bill (Bill C-16, the Protecting Victims Act) also becomes law, prosecutors (not just police) would gain the same duty to consider referring a young person to treatment.
• Oversight — the bill contains no reporting, review, or sunset provision; it takes effect 30 days after royal assent, with no mechanism specified for tracking use of these new treatment-related powers.