Again, Mr. Speaker, without referring to the Martensville case itself, would you permit me to express to the hon. member the confidence that I have in the effectiveness and the responsiveness of the criminal justice system to deal with these hateful crimes of child sexual abuse.
The fact is they do present extraordinary challenges in terms of the police investigations, the prosecutions, and for the judges and juries who must decide them.
There have been changes in the criminal law in recent years, including bills that have made it easier for victims of alleged crimes to testify, to have attendance with parents or friends in the courtroom, and to use screens so they need not confront the alleged attacker. May I remind the hon. member as well of the steps we outlined in our platform document that we intend to take to deal with this issue, including the creation of a national register of child abusers.
I am confident in the present system. This government has plans to improve it further so that we can deal with this very difficult and hateful crime in an effective way.