moved that Bill C-209, an act to amend the Criminal Code (prohibited sexual acts), be read the second time and referred to a committee.
Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise tonight to seek the support of the House for my private member's bill, Bill C-209, which will raise the age of consent from 14 to 16 years. As there has been much talk of late about issues of consent and sexual predators and their attack on our young, I believe this is a timely presentation.
Bill C-209 would therefore amend those sections of the Criminal Code dealing with prohibited sexual acts committed with children who are under the age of 14 years or in the presence of other children under the age of 14 years. In effect, the bill would allow for criminal charges to be brought against any adult who engages in sexual relations with a person younger than the age of 16.
I first introduced this bill in the House in 1996 in the wake of reports that a 14 year old Edmonton girl was having sex with her father's AIDS infected lover; a repugnant offence. As repugnant as the situation was, the police were powerless to charge the man. The question, of course, that would come to mind would be why. The law determines the age of consent to be 14 years. Unfortunately, as a result of this sexual encounter, it was a life sentence for the young lady. Nothing came out of it as far as protection for her or anybody else of her age found in a similar circumstance.
Three years later, I believe there are even more reasons to introduce this bill and to change the criminal code. Ever since the B.C. Supreme Court struck down laws prohibiting child pornography, we have heard arguments that if children can engage in sex, why should they not appear in pornographic pictures. This sort of twisted reasoning, one that points logic on its head and seeks to avoid any moral accountability, is exactly why we need to amend the criminal code in this area and in many others when it comes to sex acts against children.
We live in an age where perverts proudly display their deviant behaviour as a badge of honour. Societal constraint no longer seems to serve as a means of preserving moral order. Sexual predators need to be controlled by specific constraints that are codified in law.
I can think of a couple of situations that arose in this province alone that required substantial police investigation over many months and substantial court action accumulating evidence and building a case to convict numerous predators who had preyed on numerous young people, most under the age of 16.
It is a telling affair when we look at those charged and who they represent. They were people in authority. They were street people who were part of a gang or a loosely organized group with one common purpose, to pick on our young children.
The argument used, in many of those cases, by those who performed such acts against young people, was that they had done many of those kids a favour by taking them off the street and giving them a comfortable place to stay. Is that an argument? I do not believe it is an argument. It is rationalization beyond even reason.
There has been some criticism over the timing of this bill. One hon. member insisted that although this bill is sound, that it would be inappropriate for the Reform Party to introduce it at this time given the events of the last few weeks which involved a former justice critic of the official opposition. I do not wish to confuse the specifics of this bill with those of a legal case, but the issue has been raised and I believe it must be faced.
To suggest that this party has lost its moral right to defend those social issues that it holds dear because of the actions of one of its members is an argument without reason. It is an attack upon the man and not the idea. The hon. member who mentioned this so-called contradiction is aware of that. There is human frailty in every party caucus but it does not destroy the principles for which that party stands. We as a party have condemned such actions in the past and we will condemn such actions in the future.
Now is the time to pass this legislation. We need to do it now so children will be allowed to be children and not forced into early sexual activity by some with other desires. We need to protect our children from sexual predators who are using Canadian law as a shield, using coercion to gain consent.
The unfortunate part with a predator is that he is probably one of the most manipulative of all criminals. Over time, he will place himself in a position where he will have access to youngsters. I have seen it and, as a former police officer, I have investigated such complaints. It is very tragic to see where the tentacles of this type of criminal activity have reached. It is in our churches, our governments, our schools, our society, on our streets and on the blocks where we live. It is very pervasive.
The criminal code does not criminalize sexual activity with or between persons 14 years old or over unless it takes place in a relationship of trust or authority over the young person. This is another stipulation.
It is shocking that in Canada the voting age is 18. In provinces such as British Columbia, the legal drinking age is 19 and the legal age for obtaining a learner's permit for driving is 16, yet the age of sexual consent remains at 14.
I am well aware that many other groups, lobbyists and concerned individuals are also pushing to see the legislation changed. Some would like to see it as high as 18, and I really have no objection to that. There is good sound reason for it.
One of the rationales expressed by the Calgary Local Council of Women was that this subject had become prominent in the last year. Dr. Paul Cameron of the Family Research Institute of Colorado Springs, Colorado said that research has found that there is a clear relationship between intergenerational sexual activity and promiscuity in later life, both homosexual and heterosexual.
Further, they have found that pernicious sex tends to produce promiscuity. They found that the promiscuous tend to make poor marriage partners and poor marriage partners make poor parents. They say that this is a fact with medical, social and political implications. I think this has some good, sound, scientific basis.
We are not the same society that we were in 1882 when the criminal code was created and the age of consent was established as 14. Child pornography or child prostitution was little known a century ago and most people would never have imagined the possibility of such things occurring. Today, in the wake of the sexual revolution, we face a barrage of sexual marketing, much of it concerning children. The proliferation of the Internet, while increasing society's potential for education, growth and improvement, has also radically heightened the production and distribution of obscenity, filth and vice. Hence, children are more at risk now, in this multimedia society, then they ever have been before.
As legislators, I believe we have a moral obligation to protect the young and vulnerable in our society. We can start by making it more difficult for sexual predators to prey upon our children's innocence by raising the age of consent and, with that law well-established, using the law to its fullest if need be and enforcing it.
We as legislators have a moral obligation, yet some in the government would have us abdicate that moral responsibility to the courts. They would sit idly by while unelected judges make the moral decisions for us, as these detached individuals make decisions that will affect the lives of Canadians everywhere.
We have to choose the direction of the course of law and not have the direction charted for us. We need to set the moral agenda and not have that agenda set for us. We need to take back our responsibility for the moral climate in the country and stop insisting that we are powerless to affect the edicts of the supreme court.
I would reiterate that our children are our most precious resource. They are also one of the most vulnerable groups in our society. They are likely to be manipulated or coerced into a sexual relationship with an adult for any number of reasons, a relationship that may, on the periphery, appear consensual. What a child anticipates to be loving and caring is ultimately nothing less than exploitation if used in that fashion.
Some may argue that 14-year-olds are not ignorant about sex. This may be true, as it is hard to be ignorant about sex in a society that is quite clearly deluged with the subject. However, we must ask ourselves if at that age children have the experience and the maturity to make decisions about their own sexuality regardless of whether they consent.
Setting an age under which individuals can legally consent is not necessarily an arbitrary one. However, someone has to decide and better that we, as elected parliamentarians, through our constituents who are our mums, our dads and our grandparents, ultimately have the say. We should have the final say, not the courts. It should be decided here in the House and not by an unelected body such as the supreme court.
It is unfortunate my bill is not a votable one because I think it should be a time for accountability. The government side is raising the spectre of this issue after Reform has delivered for a number of years some strong messages in reference to the particular issue of sexual consent and predators of youngsters.
We should have unanimous consent to make this bill votable. It is not a partisan issue. It should not be a politically motivated issue. Surely we can agree on the basic moral agenda that is being outlined.
Over the past year I have been approached by members of the House from all parties. We have encouraged a non-partisan approach to issues such as this one. We all agree on the need for an active legislative approach that will define Canadian society rather than a reactive posture that allows others to define society for us.
Let us make no mistake. We cannot stand still. If we do not make the decisions other people will make them for us. I do not believe that is acceptable. Nor is it acceptable to our parents, grandparents, constituents or our children. We have been elected to do the right thing. Voting for this bill would be the right thing.