Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I don't blame some people for being a little mesmerized by the complexity of the law. The statute proposed certainly does attempt to protect the person under 16 years of age, but as I read the law, it seems to be a lot less than people think it is. So I want to direct my comments to those who've said the statute muddies the waters, makes it complex for a young person, in particular a 14- or 15-year- old, to determine whether he or she is into illegality or not.
The law certainly doesn't criminalize sexual activity by a 14- or 15-year-old, certainly if they're close in age, within five years, so that type of sexual contact will continue.
Then in relation to sexual assaults, Mr. Moore has suggested that what we're dealing with is the age of consent to have sex or be involved in a sexual act. It may not be all of that. It is whether or not consent of the complainant is a defence to a sexual assault, and that's all it is. So we are not criminalizing sexual activity on the part of a 14- or 15-year-old.
But I can think of one scenario that's not clear, and I would like to ask if you agree, where the 14- or 15-year-old is the aggressor in a sexual act, where the other individual who is more than five years older is simply passive, or even if the person who is more than five years older has offered some inducement for the sexual act. As I read it, this statute does not criminalize the actions of the 14- and 15-year-old because all the act does is remove the ability of the 14- and 15-year-old to consent. But where the 14- and 15-year-old is the actor, the aggressor, he or she is not the complainant; he or she might be the one who is seen as committing the assault.
I'm not confused by that; I'm reading the law the way it's written, and perhaps we can get some technical advice on that later. Can I have reaction from the groups who are urging us to be cautious because the statute is complicated and will confuse the 14- and 15-year-old and may scare them off accessing information about sexual health?