Mr. Speaker, I wish to thank all members who participated in the debate on my private member's Motion No. 221. I appreciate their support and contributions made during the debate.
It is clear that Canada must raise the age of consent from 14 years to at least 16 years of age. Most western democracies already have an age of consent of 16 years or older. In Denmark, France and Sweden the age of consent is 15 years. In Australia, Finland, Germany, Holland, Israel, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom it is 16 years. In the American states the age of consent is 18 years.
Everyone can see that what I am proposing today is not out of the ordinary. What is out of the ordinary is our current law which allows mature adults to have sexual relations with small children. A 14-year-old cannot vote or legally drive a car, drink alcohol or even buy cigarettes. Certain public TV programs are deemed not suitable for 14-year-olds to watch, but they can have sex with an adult. It is unbelievable.
Pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS, and sexual, physical and emotional abuse caused by their adult sexual partners will haunt these children for the rest of their lives. By keeping the age of consent at 14, this weak Liberal government is failing to protect our teens. Every province supports raising the age of consent, as do 80% of Canadians. It is time for the House to join them in their support.
The age of consent law is one of the laws that people really cannot believe is still on our books. In Canada people cannot have naked pictures of 14-year-olds on their computers because it is child pornography and they can be prosecuted for it, but a 50-year-old man can have sex with a 14-year-old and it is legal. That is nonsense.
On top of that, this arrogant Liberal government resists. A common concern raised throughout the debate on Motion No. 221 is that it may criminalize sexual activity among peers. For instance, the member for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles said during the first hour of debate on May 19 that such an amendment would enable the courts to try a 16-year-old for having sexual contact of any kind with his 15-year-old girlfriend. Similar concerns were raised by the members for Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, Northumberland—Quinte West, and Scarborough—Rouge River.
I foresaw this concern. It is the same concern that has been raised over and over again whenever the topic of raising the age of consent has been discussed. As I said during my opening speech, however, there is an easy solution. Changes to the law can contain provisions that will protect young people from being unfairly prosecuted for adolescent romance.
We can easily establish a peer exemption for sexually active younger teens. There is already an exemption in the Criminal Code that allows 12 to 14 year olds to engage in sexual intercourse with one another as long as there is less than two years' difference in their ages. Why could a similar exemption not be written into the law for older teens? In other jurisdictions around the world this is the case. For example, in Tennessee where the age of consent is 18, there is a peer exemption for partners within four years of age of one another. Obviously, this can be done in Canada. All it takes is the political will to do so.
It is obvious that the Liberals are not willing to protect children from child predators and are hiding behind a false pretext or excuse. That is shameful. All parents of young children must remember that when they vote.
In conclusion, I wish to thank everyone for participating in this debate. I express my hope that all members will vote in favour of Motion No. 221.