Government of Canada Announces Continued Support to Youth Justice Services

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - June 27, 2012) - The Honourable Rob Nicholson, P.C., Q.C., M.P. for Niagara Falls, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced that the Government of Canada will continue to provide funding to support youth justice services in the provinces and territories. Effective April 1, 2013, the Youth Justice Services Funding Program will be funded at a level of $141.7M annually.

"Our Government remains committed to holding serious and repeat young offenders accountable and to responding to the root causes of youth crime by tackling issues such as guns, gangs and drugs," said Minister Nicholson. "By investing in initiatives that advance our Government's youth justice priorities and address youth crime prevention and rehabilitation, the federal government is continuing to demonstrate its commitment to these important initiatives."

The Government of Canada will also continue to provide funding for such important initiatives as:

• The Guns, Gangs and Drugs component of the Youth Justice Fund ($2.5M annually in Budget 2011);
• The Drug Treatment component of the Youth Justice Fund under the National Anti-Drug Strategy ($1.5M annually);
• The Intensive Rehabilitative Custody and Supervision Program for specialized services for serious violent youth offenders with mental health issues ($11M annually); and
• Public Safety Canada's National Crime Prevention Strategy ($40M annually) - three out of four priorities of which focus on youth.

This funding announcement builds on the government's recently renewed commitment to legal aid funding of $111.9 million annually. Ongoing federal funding helps the provinces and territories deliver criminal legal aid for economically disadvantaged adults and youth.

As well, there has been a one-year renewal of the Aboriginal Justice Strategy, which will provide $12.5 million to on- and off-reserve, urban, rural and northern Aboriginal communities for community-based justice programs.

Since 2006, the Government has also allocated more than $90 million for initiatives that benefit victims of crime, including funding for provincial and territorial government programs, as well for grants and contributions for non-governmental organizations.

Internet: www.canada.justice.gc.ca