This bill, as I was just discussing with Mr. Casey, is very much aimed in its intent and purpose at protecting children, at being more proactive or forward-leaning, if you will, in certain measures that we hope will empower police but also send a very strong message that this type of aberrant behaviour will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the full extent, requiring that those convicted of certain sexual offences against children will now receive stronger sentences. Subject to minimums and maximums, penalities can be served consecutively, back to back. There is also an increase in the penalty provisions as they pertain to violations of certain supervision conditions, either parole or court-ordered prohibitions.
For example, those very prohibitions that are intended to protect the child from having contact with a sex offender, the abuser—frequenting a place where children are often found, such as a school yard or swimming pool, and violating those sections that are designed to protect and envelop a child in a protective environment.... If those are violated, there are stronger penalities to attach.
I mentioned removing the prohibition upon a spouse's testifying on certain charges, such as child sex offences and child pornography, making spouses competent and compellable before the courts. House arrest, parole, statutory release, unescorted temporary absence provisions again—all of those are now viewed as...an aggravating circumstance under this legislation.
I believe as well that our moral and legal obligations to share certain information, whether with other agencies such as Border Services or with our allies outside of Canada, about the travelling of Canadian convicted sex offenders...are also something for which this bill will provide greater safety. Finally, establishing a publicly accessible database that will disclose the names of high-risk sex offenders is, I believe, an important tool not only for the police, but for the public to protect their loved ones.