The sense of responsibility and leadership demonstrated in this community and in others across Canada doesn't just make my job easier, it makes it possible. This Youth Centre is about people preventing problems. And that is what the Community Safety and Crime Prevention Strategy is about. I have seen what happens when people do not act, when problems are allowed to grow. The results show up in our prisons and the costs are staggering.
Incarceration is an important part of our justice system.
Violent criminals have to be kept off our streets. Enforcement of the law is crucial. But the goal cannot be to simply build more prisons and fill them up. That is no guarantee of safety. We can see that by looking south of the border, where the United States has the highest incarceration rate among industrialized nations - and the highest crime rate.