EDITORIAL: Absurd secrecy in our youth crime law

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The murder of Toronto Police officer Marc Pinizzotto has highlighted, once again, the absurd secrecy of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

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That is the extraordinary privacy the law gives to underage accused and convicted murderers, terrorists, rapists and other uber-violent offenders.

The YCJA was sold to the public using the argument that naming anyone accused or convicted of a crime from the age of 12 to 17 when the offence was committed would condemn them to lifelong stigma and reduce their chances of rehabilitation.

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That’s reasonable for young people accused or convicted of less serious offences such as shoplifting, vehicle theft, vandalism, mischief, minor assaults and drug offences.

But the YCJA’s protection of secrecy for even the most violent youthful offenders – including those recruited by criminal and terrorist organizations, knowing that in the vast majority of cases their identities will be protected and their sentences, if convicted, light – is unconscionable.

As Postmedia crime reporter Brad Hunter wrote on Saturday:

“Gangbangers know this (as do terror organizations): Get a kid or freelancer to squeeze the trigger. It’s an efficient, pragmatic strategy, particularly in Canada, where a laughable YCJA bends over backwards to serve up breaks.”

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One absurdity of the YCJA was explained by Postmedia columnist Joe Warmington.

While the suspected triggerman in the death of Const. Pinizzotto, Nicholas Bennett, 19, is in critical condition in hospital after being hit by return fire and will be charged with first-degree murder if he lives, police are also searching for 19-year-old Zara Jabbi, although not in connection with the officer’s murder.

Zara Jabbi, 19, is wanted in connection with the shooting at the U.S. Consulate on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. Photo by Handout /Toronto Police

On Thursday, they released his name and photo under a court authorization, noting he is “wanted in connection with the March shooting at the U.S. Consulate and is considered armed and dangerous. If you see him, do not approach. Call 911 immediately.”

But because Jabbi was a youth when the photograph was taken, police can only release his name and photo up until Monday June 15.

After that, he will disappear down the YCJA memory hole.

This is not what Canadians bargained for when the YCJA was passed by the federal Liberal government in 2003.

The world has changed, the law is outdated and needs major reforms to distinguish between minor youthful offences and major ones.

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