Merci.
I want to play devil's advocate to both Egale and the AIDS society. Certainly I've heard this argument. I won't say I subscribe to it, but I want to hear a response.
If we accept your arguments to not raise the age to 16, it seems logical that we would either eliminate an age of consent completely or reduce it to 12, as it was in the late 1800s. What do you say to that kind of an argument? There are a few countries in the world that don't have an age of consent at all in their criminal legislation. Obviously the vast majority have one that runs from 14 or 16 to 18. But if you follow--and Ms. Downer, I think I'm pointing to you specifically because you addressed this more than anybody did--your arguments regarding the nature of the relationship and so on, why would you not reduce the age? We know from the statistics that there are a reasonable number of youth in Canada aged 12 and 13 who are in fact engaged in sexual relations.