Madam Speaker, I thank our colleague for his comments. I think I made the bill's incoherence quite clear in my remarks. We must not, however, let it be thought that the government need not act to prevent cruelty to animals.
When we discussed these provisions in caucus, our critic pointed out that reference in the Criminal Code to cruelty to animals dated from the 19th century. It should therefore be brought up to date, with very specific definitions for the matters we are referring to.
Some of my colleagues were concerned by the fact that the definition of cruelty might be incompatible with hunting and fishing activities that are legal today. We must therefore separate what we want to see continue as a recreational activity from the offences we want to see applied to those who mistreat our animals.
We therefore support the idea that animals are not just possessions. We have concerns that relate to the major animal protection agencies that want clearly identified punishment for inflicting pain on animals.
Our colleague also pointed out the importance of the whole issue of sexual exploitation through a new medium--the Internet.
In fact, there was a ruling in British Columbia. Unless I am mistaken, the hon. member is from British Columbia. We know this is not an issue related to freedom of expression. We cannot accept that a medium such as this one allows for the exploitation of children, for indecent pictures, for pictures that are totally incompatible with the moral values that we wish to implement and promote in our society. It is important not only to tighten controls, but also offences related to such practices.
We are concerned about this issue. We want to do things right. Again, we would have liked to have two, three or four bills, so that each one would have been debated based on its own merits and relevance.