Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to present a petition to the House from my constituents in St. Catharines and from people in the Niagara area.
The petition states that Canadians are alarmed and deeply disturbed by further victimization of the families of Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy by reason of the use of the Bernardo video tapes.
The petitioners wish to draw to the attention of the House that section 486(1) of the Criminal Code of Canada mandates that all evidence presented at criminal trials be presented in open court and be fully available to the public and media.
The petitioners call upon Parliament to amend this law by creating a specific exemption to this open court rule to exclude evidence of child and coerced pornography.