Globalization, justice and the demonization of youth

Abstract

In recent years, policy changes implemented by the Canadian government-- including the proportionate reduction of monies spent on health, education, and social programs—have had a direct impact on the youth criminal justice system in Canada. These policy changes have had a direct impact on Canadian youth who are, in many ways, the most disenfranchised citizens in Canadian society. We discuss the evolution of the Canadian youth justice system and the implementation of the Youth Criminal Justice System and analyze how public policy and public sentiment work together to legitimate the identification and management of specific groups targeted as problematic. In the end, we theorize on the place that children and youth hold in the global world and argue that global capital creates a context in which the labour of children and youth is vital to global economics but devalued in the eyes of the world. We relate the ideological condemnation of children and youth by the justice system to their exploited place in the global labour market.