What is the Youth Criminal Justice Act?

For those of you in search of an understanding of what exactly the YCJA is, or what it even stands for, you’ve come to the right place!

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Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) is the governing code in Canada for youth that came into effect in 2003. It covers the prosecution of your case if you are 12-17 years old at the time a criminal offence was committed. If you are charged after you turn 18, the YCJA is no longer applicable and you will be charged under the Criminal Code of Canada.

Youth Justice Court: In Canada, if you are between the ages of 12-17 at the time the crime was committed, your case will be tried at the Youth Justice Court.

Why does Canada have it? The YCJA focuses on:

•  Helping to put young people who have committed crimes back into society,
• Giving fair sentences consistent with the needs of young  people and their lower level of maturity,
• Giving extra protection to young people, treating them fairly and respecting their right to privacy, and
• Enforcing the law quickly to strengthen the link between the behaviour and its consequences. 

What if I am under 12 years old?

If you commit a crime and you are not 12 years old yet, the YCJA will not apply to you and you are not considered to be criminally responsible. Under Canadian law, persons under the age of 12 years cannot be said to form a criminal intent sufficient for criminal responsibility or a criminal record, if found guilty. The Criminal Code of Canada, section 13, states "No person shall be convicted of an offence in respect of an act or omission on his or her part while that person was under the age of twelve years." However, you may still face consequences, although not penal, for this behavior based on other laws, for example the Child and Family Services Act.

If I commit a crime, can I get a lawyer? If you are between the ages of 12-17 and have been charged with a crime, you do have a right to a lawyer.  Section 25 of the Youth Criminal Justice Act reads:

25.(1) A young person has the right to retain and instruct counsel without delay, and to exercise that right personally, at any stage of proceedings against the young person and before and during any consideration of whether, instead of starting or continuing judicial proceedings against the young person under this Act, to use an extrajudicial sanction to deal with the young person.

(2) Every young person who is arrested or detained shall, on being arrested or detained, be advised without delay by the arresting officer or the officer in charge, as the case may be, of the eight to retain and instruct counsel, and be given an opportunity to obtain counsel.

This means that youths who are arrested or detained for any reason must be told of their right and be given the opportunity to obtain a lawyer before any lawful procedures are conducted.

Will my parents find out if I commit a crime? 

Under section 26(1) of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, the officer in charge of the arrest or detention of a youth must give notice to a parent either orally or in writing as soon as they possibly can.

Will my classmates find out if I commit a crime? 

Section 110 of the Youth Criminal Justice Act outlines privacy in relation to the identity of young offenders, access to their criminal records, and disclosure of their personal or trial information. Trial information can be published in media or print but identifying information (ie your name) about young offenders cannot be. 

To take a look at the Youth Criminal Justice Act, click here

For more information on YCJA and your rights as a youth, check out our legal information pamphlets: 

Know Your Rights: http://www.jfcy.org/ycj.html 

Youth Guide to Court: http://jfcy.org/PDFs/Charged_March2012.pdf 

If you are a youth charged with a crime, you can call JFCY at 416.920.1633 or 1.866.999.5329 to speak with a lawyer.

This blog post was written by Lauren Grossman, a first-year law student at U of T who is volunteering at JFCY through her law school’s Pro Bono Students Canada program. All info was reviewed by a JFCY staff lawyer.

Meet Lauren: 2012/2013 PLE Team Leader

My name is Lauren Grossman and I am very excited to be the new PLE Team Leader this year! You might have already seen my name on the blog and wondered who I am, so now I have the chance to tell you a little bit about myself.

I am in my first year of law school at the University of Toronto. I am volunteering as the PLE Team Lead at Justice for Children and Youth through my school’s Pro Bono Students Canada program. PBSC is a student program across Canada that is dedicated to providing legal services at no charge to those in need. There are various opportunities with PBSC for law students to get involved in a number of different legal fields.

I will be at JFCY this year, working with staff lawyer Andrea Luey to lead the PLE Team. I will be writing and/or contributing legal information to the weekly posts on the blog. I will also be helping to run the PLE meetings and create a major project with the PLE team. I am very excited about my position with JFCY!

After 4 years of being away at school, I am very happy to be back living in Toronto! I just graduated from the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario with an Honours Bachelor of Science in April, I have a diverse range of educational interests as I have a background in medical sciences from my undergraduate studies and I am currently studying the field of law.

I hope you have been enjoying all the blog has to offer and I look forward to hearing any ideas or comments you may have! If you are interesting in joining our PLE team, or would just like some more information, Check this out! Our team has so much to offer. The Youtube committee has some great ideas for the year and we are in the process of coming up with some fun ideas for a major project!

Be sure to comment below if you have any ideas to offer for future blog posts!

However, keep in mind that we do not share any legal advice over our blog, you should contact JFCY directly by telephone to speak to a lawyer regarding legal advice on any personal issues or situations.

I am looking forward to a great year with JFCY on the PLE team!

BULLYING ZINE

Just in time for the Day of Pink, the JFCY PLE Team has released its Bullying Zine. Click here to read it!

This zine has articles and info on many topics relating to bullying, as well as comics and other graphics. It was directed and edited by Leora Jackson, a U of T law student who volunteered at JFCY this year as part of Pro Bono Students Canada.

The content in the zine was written by the following PLE Team volunteers: Terence Chen, Tracy Chen, Arif Hussain, Marsha Rampersaud, Cydney Kim, Deby Ko, and Inez Leutenegger. The legal info was reviewed by JFCY staff lawyers.

Members of the PLE Team will be handing out copies today at Dundas Square, as part of the Day of Pink, the International Day Against Bullying, Discrimination, Transphobia and Homophobia in schools and communities.

For your own copy, and to distribute to your class, community group or friends, click here.

Privacy and Social Networking

-By Leora Jackson, JFCY volunteer and PLE Team Lead

Janine Loves Facebook


Janine is fifteen and uses Facebook to keep in touch with all of her friends.  Since she has friends from school, camp, and after-school activities, Facebook is a great way to be in touch with people.  When she wants to tell something to one of her friends, she posts on that friend’s wall.  Everyone else can see the post, but Janine doesn’t mind.  Last weekend, Janine went to a party at a classmate’s house.  She posted a whole album of photos online from the party.  The next week, there is an article about teen parties in the local paper.  One of Janine’s photos is published in the paper, and Janine gets really upset.  Her parents didn’t know that she attended the party.

What can Janine do to keep this from happening again?  
Was the newspaper allowed to use her picture?

Facebook is a private organization that collects personal information.  As a result, it must follow Canadian law about protecting privacy.  The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) is a Canadian law that directs private organizations in how to protect the personal information of people who are involved with that organization.  PIPEDA applies in most Canadian provinces, including Ontario, and it limits the ways that an organization can use the personal information that you have provided it.

While people choose which information they post on Facebook, they can also choose who is able to see that information.  For example, Facebook has options that allow you to decide which other internet users can see your wall posts, your photos, your notes, and other information you have shared.  Facebook has even worked with Canada’s Information and Privacy Commissioner to improve its privacy controls in response to complaints.

To prevent this from happening again, Janine needs to update her Facebook privacy settings so that fewer people are able to see the information that she posts on Facebook.  She should also think before she posts, because once information is online, it is impossible to keep total control over it – even if it is later removed from the internet!  Facebook privacy settings are found here.

Since Janine took her pictures, she owns the copyright to them, which means that other people cannot reproduce them without asking her permission.  However, there is a “fair dealing” exception in the Copyright Act that allows news reporters to use copyrighted images as long as they cite the source of the image and, if it is available, the name of the image’s creator.  There are other exceptions as well in the Copyright Act. Janine would have to consult a lawyer to find out whether this use of her picture counted as fair dealing by the newspaper, or fits into another exception. 

However, when Janine posted her photo to Facebook, she granted Facebook a license to use the photo according to the Facebook Terms of Use, which means that Facebook can use Janine’s photo in many different ways without requesting her permission. So, for example, if Facebook used Janine’s photo in its newsletter, she would not be able to complain, since as a Facebook user, she has consented to Facebook’s Terms of Use.

Want to Learn More?

If you are interested in learning more about privacy, especially privacy online, check out the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada’s social networking pages, or their youth site.

If you want to read the laws that we discussed in this post, follow these links: PIPEDA and the Copyright Act.

 A Lesson in Privacy - from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner's
"My Privacy and Me" contest

Leora is in her first year of law school at the University of Toronto.  She is volunteering with JFCY through Pro Bono Students Canada (PBSC) and will be acting as the Public Legal Education Team Lead until March 2012. 

Meet your new Public Legal Education Team Lead!

Hello and welcome to the JFCY blog, if this is your first visit!  If not, welcome back.

My name is Leora Jackson and I am beginning a volunteer placement as the PLE Team Lead at JFCY through Pro Bono Students Canada (PBSC).  PBSC is a Canada-wide organization that encourages law students (like me) to get involved with their communities by donating time and skills. 

I’ll be at JFCY throughout this year, working with staff lawyer Andrea Luey to lead the PLE Team.  My role will involve helping to promote and update JFCY’s social media outlets – this blog, Facebook, and Twitter.  I’ll also be helping to coordinate meetings and other projects.

Outside of JFCY, I attend law school at the University of Toronto.  I recently moved to Toronto from outside the city, and before that, I spent five years living and going to school in Kingston, Ontario.  At law school, I’m also involved as a tutor with the LAWS program, where one JFCY's summer staff participated as a student!

I have some ideas about how we can improve our social networking presence and the online information that we provide about legal issues facing children and youth, but I would really appreciate hearing your ideas and suggestions about the blog, the topics we cover, and how we can communicate better.

If you’re interested in joining the PLE team, find out more here (scroll to the bottom to find out about volunteering).  The team is currently working on a number of different projects, including future YouTube videos and resources on cyber-bullying.

I am thrilled to be at JFCY and I am looking forward to learning more about the organization and sharing that with you.  Have a great weekend!
Leora