Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to speak on behalf of the official opposition on this, the fourth anniversary of National Child Day. I would like to take a few moments to point out that the minister may have been requested at the very last minute to speak on this issue in the House, but I would like to remind him that every time a minister's statement is made with just a few minutes' notice, it is very hard for us to prepare an appropriate response. I just wanted to make the minister aware of the situation.
Having said this, I want to take this opportunity today to say how much the Bloc Quebecois is concerned about this issue.
Let me digress for a moment. On this National Child Day, I cannot help but think about the thousands and thousands of children who live in poverty right here in Quebec and in Canada. It is appalling to see such a disturbing number of children go to school hungry, unable to learn in suitable conditions.
The minister is asking us to address the issue of missing children today. Can you for a moment imagine what the parents of missing children go through? Can you for a moment imagine all the distress these children have to face?
If more than 1 million children are sexually abused throughout the world every year, how many children have to go through this same ordeal right here in Canada? True, the 1989 bill of rights for children condemned child sexual abuse, but it ignored its international dimension.
The Dutroux scandal, in Belgium, gave a graphic example of the horror of this situation. Right here in Canada, just a few days ago, major pedophile networks on the Internet were dismantled. This represents a huge challenge at the legislative level. I think we need to develop an appropriate legislative framework to take efficient measures in this area.
As everyone knows, it is hard to gather evidence against sexual tourists, which means that very few of them get convicted.
We therefore feel that one of the government's priorities should be to establish information centres and data banks on victims and those exploit them, in order to improve co-operation among countries and specialized agencies. We must look for concrete solutions to the problem of missing children and those who are victims of sexual exploitation.
Belgium is not the only country where the justice system fails to apprehend dangerous criminals. As the Minister of Foreign Affairs said earlier, between 1,500 and 2,000 children are reported missing in Canada at any given time. And among these are many complex cases of abductions involving other countries, since the children are simply taken abroad, where the Canadian government can do nothing at all. Canada will therefore have to take a long hard look at this situation and act accordingly.
We must have mechanisms for tracing Canadian and Quebec children who have disappeared abroad. That being said, we can only applaud the minister's decision to have his department join the
missing children registry of the RCMP and its partners in the our missing children program.
As I said just now, we must set up information centres and data banks. Since the missing children registry is an important source of computer data on missing children in Canada, I think its association with the Department of Foreign Affairs cannot be other than positive. The next step is to connect with computer data in other countries and co-ordinate our activities with these countries. Where are we now in that respect? I would like to know.
I realize it is always reassuring when the minister is optimistic. I am quite prepared to believe him when he says that Canada will have the most powerful system in the world to bring missing and abducted children back to their parents or guardians.
I agree that the program will benefit from expertise provided by Foreign Affairs officers in Ottawa and in our embassies and consulates. However, abroad, in spite of all the expertise of our best officers, Canada cannot act alone. Hence the vital importance of the role played by all partners involved, both in the public and private sectors.
Canada should, for instance, put pressure on those international partners who have not yet signed The Hague convention that would provide for close co-operation between the judicial and administrative authorities of the contracting states.
We therefore urge the government to continue to work on all these fronts. We must ensure that our collective determination is converted into concrete action.