Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition signed by hundreds of residents of Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia. These petitioners are recognizing that people who experience depression and mental illness need to be protected by law and that predators are currently encouraging and counselling suicide, without penalty, through the Internet.
The petitioners call upon Parliament to enable prosecution of those who encourage or counsel someone to commit suicide, by updating the Criminal Code to reflect the new realities of 21st century broadband access, and to fund education programs that will empower people who experience depression and mental illness and Canada's vulnerable youth to protect themselves from online predators and find appropriate community support resources.