Mr. Speaker, I would first certainly like to thank those members in the House who made very direct presentations in support of my bill. I know that they speak for many others. Just for the record, I would like to thank the hon. member for Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough, the hon. member for Provencher and the hon. member for Saanich—Gulf Islands.
The whole issue when offences like this take place in the community—again I am going to say it—is summed up in one word: outrage.
I was looking through the statistical background of sexual offenders in federal correctional institutions at present. Unfortunately I could not get the most up to date information, but as of December 31, 1997 there were actually 4,591 sex offenders under federal jurisdiction. That does not include those under provincial jurisdiction. That is quite an extensive number of individuals. Twenty-one per cent of the total federal offender population is considered to be sex offenders. The average age of sex offenders under federal jurisdiction was 43 years old. The oldest sex offender was 89 years old.
It just happened that I walked through one of the federal institutions one day not too long ago. That day they admitted an 83 year old man for a sexual offence. This is an issue that does not diminish with the age of the offender. The offender constantly has this propensity to get involved in this kind of criminal activity, picking on our youngest and most vulnerable. The victims unfortunately can be of any age, some as young as babies in their crib. This I gathered from my experience in the police department in Calgary for 20 some years.
I can only encourage and urge all members in the House to push the government side, cabinet or whomever has the final say to bring about real change. It is unfortunate that a vote cannot be taken on my bill. I believe a vote on this particular topic would pass in the House but unfortunately this is not a votable item. However it will not die here. I believe members on both sides of the House will make sure that it will be on the table again.