The Young Offenders Act ( YOA ) was an act of the Parliament of Canada, granted Royal Assent in 1984, that regulated the criminal prosecution of Canadian youths.[1] The act was repealed in 2003 with the passing of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
The act established the national age of criminal responsibility at 12 years old, and said that youths can only be prosecuted if they break a law of the Criminal Code (previously, youths could be prosecuted or punished solely on the grounds that it was in the youth's "best interests").+++