moved for leave to introduce Bill C-240, an act to amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act and the Criminal Code.
Mr. Speaker, the purpose of this bill is to amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act as well as the Criminal Code to provide for the detention of high risk violent offenders after the expiration of their sentences and to provide for the detention of sex offenders convicted of offences against children.
This bill will give the Correctional Service of Canada and the National Parole Board the power to refer the offender to the appropriate Attorney General for a dangerous offender hearing. Upon making a dangerous offender finding, a court could then make the following orders for the protection of society: First, custody for an indefinite period of time; second, custody for a definite period of time; and third, supervised release in the community for a period of 10 years.
The second aspect of this bill would eliminate the need to prove the serious harm criteria when dealing with high risk offenders who victimize children. The current requirement to prove serious harm is difficult in cases involving children as the actual harm to the child may not be evident for several years. A child's difficulty in clearly communicating the effect of a sexual crime makes serious harm very difficult to detect.
It is my pleasure to introduce this bill. I hope it is given great consideration as it is very important for the protection of society.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed.)