I will present them separately, then.
The first amendment reads as follows:
That Bill C-26, in Clause 29, be amended by adding after line 36 on page 14 the following:
“(2) Under no circumstances must the information referred to in subsection (1) be used to identify the victims.”
That follows on the evidence we have heard this week about the much touted database. We know that, in approximately 90% of cases, offenders are related to the victim. I was careful to read all the information about the description of offences. Everything that is written there could lead to that.
There should be an additional test to make sure that publishing the information will not disclose anything about the victim. I think that goes without saying. It is just additional protection. It is important to keep this criterion in mind when the information is published.
We can easily imagine a case of incest or sexual assault against a child, where we know that the offender assaulted an eight-year-old child based on the description of the offences committed if we start describing what happened on such and such a date. People could count the years and think of a girl of that age. That may well cause problems, which I don't think is the government's intent.
I think this amendment is reasonable. In fact, it changes nothing to the way the database is set up. It simply seeks to protect victims.