Thank you, Mr. Chair.
To come back to the context, what we were trying to do is to simplify paragraph 286(1)(i) and make it more consistent. In that regard, we heard witnesses raise all sorts of issues about how the meaning of this part of the bill is not clear. It reads:
...in the case where the offence is committed in a public place, or in any place open to public view, that is or is next to a park or the grounds of a school or religious institution or that is or is next to any other place where persons under the age of 18 can reasonably be expected to be present...
It then goes on to describe the sentences that can be imposed in such cases.
The amendments that the NDP is proposing eliminate that aspect. We do not think that it is very smart to have a Criminal Code with provisions that are left open to be interpreted, clarified or defined any which way. We believe that we must try to be clear from the outset. That is why it seems much more precise to remove line 29 on page 10 to line 2 on page 11.
The article should read:
Everyone who, in any place, obtains for consideration, or communicates with anyone for the purpose of obtaining for consideration, the sexual services of a person is guilty of
(a) an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years and a minimum punishment of...
We would continue as follows:
(i) for a first offence, a fine of $1,000, and
(ii) for each subsequent offence, a fine of $2,000...
We just want to remove the aspect that witnesses described as very hard to explain and interpret. We do not want provisions like that in the Criminal Code.