The Act lowered a shroud of secrecy over this whole area of justice and law enforcement by prohibiting the publication of young offenders names or any details that would identify them. Yet despite three attempts over eight years, the current government has been unable to correct these and other flaws. Alan Rock, when he was Justice Minister, failed to steer his changes through Parliament. Ideally, the new act would satisfy both sides in the debate by giving them the latitude to try their own approaches. This would be sensible policy.
Experimentation means trying many different strategies.
Ultimately, the most successful gets imitated. Right now, the debate is wide open about what is most likely to succeed in reducing juvenile crime. Quebec s go-soft approach seems to have some merit, at least on the surface. Between 1988 and 1998, the percentage of young people charged with violent crime in Quebec increased 42 percent, but this was the lowest increase in the nation. The average provincial increase was 77 percent.