Madam Speaker, I will let my hon. colleague catch his breath. He will then be able to answer and proceed with his speech.
I see that yet another colleague of mine will be supporting my amendments. With regard to my amendments, I want to point out that I have consulted various stakeholders who are concerned about genital mutilation and they agreed that this bill will no go far for several reasons. The amendment I want to refer to deals with genital mutilation and the concept of extraterritoriality.
Since this concept was used in the sex tourism bill, I do not see why it could not be included in the genital mutilation bill. Any individual who is a Canadian citizen could then be prosecuted. We know full well that mutilation very often happens outside the country. Under the bill introduced by the minister, these offenders would not be prosecuted, because no new offence would be created. The purpose of the bill I introduced was to create a new offence.
The minister's bill only defines genital mutilation as part of the assaults stipulated in the legislation. I had hoped for a provision listing the various aspects of genital mutilation and all the prohibited acts, something that would apply not only to the individual performing the mutilation but to anyone encouraging such a practice or ensuring that an individual undergoes genital mutilation.
I would like my hon. colleague to tell us if he thinks extraterritoriality is a good principle that could help to reinforce this bill.