What Are The Potential Penalties From The Youth Criminal Justice Act?
The maximum length of sentences under the YCJA is 2 to 10 years imprisonment. However, the emphasis in youth matters is on "Extrajudicial Sanctions" or EJS. EJS are out of court measures used to hold a young person accountable for their criminal conduct.
There are various types of extrajudicial sanctions, including:
- Writing an apology letter;
- Writing an essay;
- Community service hours of volunteer work;
- Compensating the victim; and
- Attending specialized programs.
The following offences are ineligible for EJS:
- murder, manslaughter, infanticide, criminal negligence causing death
- driving offences causing death or bodily harm
- aggravated assault
- simple impaired driving or driving with a prohibited blood alcohol concentration or refusing to provide a breath sample
- offences involving firearms
- criminal organization offences
- terrorism offences
- kidnapping
- voyeurism
- child abuse and child luring
- home invasions
- human trafficking offences
- robbery
- sexual assault cause bodily harm
- sexual interference and exploitation, invitation to sexual touching and incest
- any offences where the Attorney General's consent was obtained to initiate proceedings.
