Thank you, Mr. Chair.
This amendment goes to the issue of the lifetime punishments for certain offenders. Again this is a concern that was raised in evidence from the bar association, but my own concern is the absolute prohibition on the Internet for prolonged periods of time. A blanket prohibition to be lawful shouldn't exceed five years. The reason for this is that access to the Internet is not a trivial access in our society. Actually a lifetime barrier from using the Internet could, for instance, preclude that individual from ever applying for jobs if the job application site is an Internet-based site.
I'm all in favour of punishments that suit the crime and making sure that someone who's cyberbullying is properly and appropriately punished, but surely we should have some exemptions. So that's why this amendment speaks to “subject to any conditions or exemptions that the court considers to be necessary to avoid causing undue prejudice to the interests of the offender”. I think that explains it.