Mr. Speaker, we have had a very important debate in the House today on this issue. I think that among all the speakers I have heard, and I have heard most of the speakers today, there is unanimity within this place with regard to our abhorrence of child pornography and all of those exploitive activities related to our children.
In fact, I note that in some of the work we have done in the House and some of the points that have come out, there are things such as children who witness abuse in our society being as affected as if they had been abused themselves. We hear facts like 25% of our children entering adult life with significant social, moral, behavioural, academic and health problems. We have heard that 28% of the homeless in Toronto consists of youth alienated from their families, of which 70% have experienced physical or sexual abuse.
There is no question that our children are the most vulnerable persons in our society and that all of the efforts of members in the House have been put toward trying to find the appropriate initiatives to address the needs of our children, to protect them from those who would exploit them.
In the previous speech, the member posed to the House an amendment to in fact replace the existing motion we have been debating all day long with another motion that tries to bring it into a more inclusive or a more acceptable form, because admittedly there were some technical problems with it, but I think the spirit and the intent of what the member has raised is very close to being acceptable for the House.
I even tried to propose a motion this morning. I have one in front of me. I would like to read it into the record. It states:
That in addition to all measures already taken, the government without delay embark upon a well thought out, consultative approach to further measures, including such legislation as may be appropriate to protect Canadian children from sexual predators and sexual exploitation, including an examination of the concerns with respect to age of consent and defence of artistic merit, and that such approach include effective consultations with provincial governments and with parliamentarians through the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights.
Again, embracing the spirit and the intent which all members in the House have talked about today, I believe it is a motion that is totally inclusive of all the views of the members. I believe it might be appropriate to ask all members yet once again for unanimous consent to adopt this motion, or to move this motion formally to the House.