Mr. Speaker, I begin by commending my colleague from Calgary Centre for his wisdom and effort in bringing this legislation before the House for consideration.
Bill C-284 has all the elements that make excellent legislation. First of all it is based on common sense. Our society does not accept child molesters in any position of trust when it comes to the issue of children. Common sense tells us that it is simply too risky and any parent is unwilling to accept that kind of risk when it comes to their children.
This legislation is also simple and direct. It sticks to the very matter at hand and pinpoints a specific flaw in our justice system.
Finally this bill is reasonable and fair. While its central focus is to protect our children, the amendments proposed under Bill C-284 do not flagrantly harass convicted child molesters who have been pardoned. There is absolutely no impact on their search for gainful employment that does not involve children. Unless children are involved, they continue to enjoy the privilege of not being required to divulge their conviction.
This bill closes a loophole and that is one of the things MPs are sent to the House to do. We must close the legal loopholes that jeopardize the safety of Canadians and fail to protect and improve their lives. When we discuss this loophole we are not talking about extreme cases, worst case scenarios or remote odds. We are talking about a common occurrence where a convicted child molester has been given a pardon and is perfectly free to seek a position involving children with no scrutiny and absolutely no questions asked.
Only about 1% of convicted criminals who apply for pardons are refused. That means 99% are pardoned. It is not as though a child molester must fight through challenging hurdles in order to get himself or herself into a position of trust over children. The possibility of this happening is very high and very real. Once the pardon is granted, the current laws mean a day care or nursery school is breaking the law to even ask a child molester if he or she has ever been pardoned for a criminal offence against children.
This debate can be boiled down to one central issue, the quest to appear politically correct versus the protection of our children. We are well aware of this government's effort to ensure the rights and freedoms of prisoners and convicted criminals.
They are so very sensitive to the newest theories in criminal rehabilitation. That is all very well and good, but never can these accommodating gestures be made at the expense of victims and potential victims, in this case the most vulnerable in our society, our children.
Which is more important, the right to privacy for a pardoned sex offender or the right to life and safety of a child? I believe Canadians want the law to place children first. As for the privacy and potential harassment of a pardoned criminal, this bill does not advocate pasting their name and photo on every telephone pole, something that has become a great source of controversy in this country and around the world. This legislation is simply designed to prevent and discourage sex offenders from working with children. That is all.
Members of some of the other parties in this Chamber have accused Reformers in the past of sensationalizing crime and inflating the problems in our justice system. In rebuttal I would argue that the only thing Reformers have done has been to raise the unpleasant and horrifying impact of government inaction in rectifying faulty laws, legal loopholes and weak enforcement.
Reform MPs have done many things in Ottawa that members of other parties have not dared to do, things that would disturb the old guard and the status quo. We have dared to bring these preventable crimes to light.
I am not going to relate the horrible tragedies in which convicted child molesters have managed to regain access to children. We all know it happens. We all read the newspapers and watch television. Instead I want to appeal to the mothers and fathers, the grandmothers and grandfathers, the aunts and uncles, the Godmothers and Godfathers and anyone else who is fortunate enough to have a child in their life who they love and who loves them.
Like many children that child will probably at some point in his or her life enrol in a nursery school, a play group, a day care, a sporting activity, a hobby club or a service organization such as Brownies or Scouts.
Let us take the example of a nursery school. The parents of that child have the right to demand that their two, three or four year old child is not susceptible to sex offenders or child molesters.
To achieve this level of safety the nursery school, like most organizations involving children, requires that any employee, volunteer, or any other individual for that matter, with access to those children while they are under the responsibility of the school undergo a criminal reference check. This would include the nursery school teachers, any assistants or any parents who help with the children's activities.
Individuals obtain from the police documentation stating that they have no criminal record. At this point, if a parent feels certain their child is at no risk of being in the care of a child molester, they are unfortunately misguided. When a convicted criminal receives a pardon for his or her offence the police are required to remove any record of that conviction from their personal records. So, unwittingly, the police may issue a positive criminal reference check for a pardoned child molester. That is certainly not the fault of the police. It is the fault of the law. It is obvious that we need to remedy this horrifying oversight.
I believe Bill C-284 is the ideal solution. It would ensure that organizations like nursery schools do not mistakenly hire a child molester. At the same time the bill offers a reasonable approach.
This fairness can be seen in the following example. Again I will refer to my nursery school scenario.
A father of one of the nursery school's young students is required, along with all parents, to assist the teacher during some classes, or to drive students on a field trip. When this man, now in his late thirties, was 18 years of age perhaps he was involved in a bar room brawl and subsequently received a conviction for assault. It undoubtedly was a stupid thing to do and part of his youth that he is not very proud of, but he has taken responsibility for his actions, served his debt to society and some two decades later has a career and family of his own. He requests, and is granted, a pardon for his assault conviction.
Is it fair that this man be prevented from participating in his own child's nursery school activities? Of course not. He was young and he made a mistake.
Under Bill C-284, with his pardon, this man would still receive a positive criminal reference and be able to fulfil his parental obligations to the nursery school. He poses little risk, if any, to the children and Bill C-284 acknowledges that.
But child molesters do pose a very high risk, a very serious risk to children's safety and they should never, ever, be put in a position of trust over children.
Just how much of a risk do children face? In studies conducted by the Correctional Service Canada, pedophiles were found to have the highest rate of sexual recidivism when compared to other sex offenders.
One such study called “Managing the Treatment of Sex Offenders: a Canadian Perspective” said that “It appears likely that pedophiles, especially those men who offend against young boys, are at greater risk to recidivate sexually than are rapists”.
Another study called “Factors Related to Recidivism Among Released Federal Sex Offenders” found that one-third of sex offenders were convicted of a new criminal offence following release. This study also found that pedophiles had the highest rate of sexual recidivism.
Yet another study by the Canada working group found that when sexual aggressors do re-offend they tend to repeat the offence for which they were originally convicted.
It is very fortunate that this bill has been deemed votable. This means that we in this Chamber have the opportunity to enact some very good legislation, the kind of legislation that will reap benefits, restore faith in the justice system and, first and foremost, protect children. Obtaining these goals is part of our job as parliamentarians and I encourage all members of this House to do their job and support Bill C-284.