Thank you, Mr. Chair.
NDP-4 is again on section 159, but as opposed to the prior two proposed amendments, both from the Liberals and from me, this deals very specifically with the age of 16 years. Again, although there is no reference in the primary bill, Bill C-22, to section 159, we are clearly dealing with the age of consent being fixed in this country, for all purposes with regard to sexual activity, at 16 years.
So again, Mr. Chair, if this amendment is not acceptable and we don't pass it, we're going to end up in this situation, which has been ruled by the courts, all the way up to the courts of appeal in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, as being contradictory. We're going to be creating a real anomaly here, and it's not the way legislation should be drafted. The government has a real responsibility here, quite frankly, to agree to this amendment and to do it unanimously. This is a simple way of getting around the whole issue of the language that's in Marleau and Montpetit, which I find quite restrictive. At some point we should deal with that in a more global sense. That aside, this is one of the amendments to which, clearly, the government should be agreeing, and it should be going through unanimously both here and when this bill goes back to the House.
On that basis, I would argue that you should rule it in order. It deals specifically with moving the age to 16, as we are doing in the balance of the bill. There's no question that the focus of the bill is to establish the age of consent in this country as 16 for all purposes. I would say this is different from simply repealing section 159, and on that basis you should rule that in fact it is admissible.