moved for leave to introduce Bill C-391, an act to amend the Criminal Code (penalties for sexual offences involving children).
Mr. Speaker, the bill I am introducing today will do three things in amending the Criminal Code of Canada. It will provide a maximum punishment of life in prison with no parole for 25 years if guilty of sexual assault on a child under 8 or a child under 14 who is under the offender's trust or authority or who is dependent on the offender.
It will suggest an increase in the maximum penalty for forcible confinement to 14 years in the case of a parent or ward who confines a child and thereby harms the child's physical or mental health. It will provide assurance that the definition of publication in the case of child pornography covers transmission by electronic mail or posting the material on the Internet or any other electronic net.
I would like to thank those who have supported me in this bill. I look forward to debating this issue in the House in the near future.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed.)