Mr. Chair, the government will not be supporting the amendment.
The Criminal Code sets out offences that have general application and proclaim standards of socially unacceptable behaviour. It is important to underline that youth under age 18 who are accused of a criminal offence are subject to a separate regime in relation to charging, criminal procedures, sentencing, rehabilitation, and reintegration pursuant to the Youth Criminal Justice Act, YCJA. It recognizes that youth must be held accountable but in a way that takes into account their greater dependency, reduced level of maturity, and the principle that youth are presumed to be less morally blameworthy than adults.
For instance, the YCJA requires police officers to consider using alternatives to charging or extrajudicial measures in all cases of youth offending. If extrajudicial measures are deemed to be inappropriate, charges may be laid. Whether charges proceed to trial will be based on the prosecutor's assessment of the public interest and whether there is a reasonable prospect of conviction in each individual case.
Studies on forced marriage indicate that multiple family members can take part in the use of force for the purpose of compelling a person to marry against their will. Siblings may be tasked by parents with a job of enforcing or assisting with the enforcement of a marriage. Excluding youth from the ambit of these offences might result in parents' increased reliance on their minor children to force another child into an unwanted marriage, and may fail to hold accountable individuals whose conduct is blameworthy and directly contributed to the victimization of another.
Similarly, providing immunity for anyone under age 18 who marries another person knowing that the other person is marrying against their will or is under the age of 16 fails to take into consideration that the social harm and impact of the victim is the same regardless of whether the person they are forced to marry is above or below the age of 18.
Finally, Mr. Chair, it would be inconsistent for the law to hold these youth accountable for general offences committed in the course of forcing someone to marry, such as assault and forcible confinement, while exempting them from the specific offence of active participation in the forced marriage ceremony.
We are opposed to the amendment.
(Amendment negatived [See Minutes of Proceedings])