Mr. Speaker, female genital mutilation is already a criminal misdeed in this country. It is plainly contrary to at least three sections of the Criminal Code.
Yesterday I furnished the hon. member with a copy of the document that I tabled with the House setting forth the analysis upon which I rely for those conclusions.
In my respectful view, it is not going to help dealing with this difficult and tragic problem for us to refine further a code that already prohibits the misconduct. Our focus must be on ensuring that the people who arrive as immigrants and the people who are in Canada already are aware that it is against the law and that the provincial authorities work with us in enforcing those laws sternly and efficiently. I believe that is the way to come to grips with this problem and that is the conclusion which I expressed in the document that I tabled.