Mr. Speaker, today is national Anti-Bullying Day.
While bullying has always existed, modern technology gives bullies the ability to humiliate and intimidate their victims in front of the entire world.
As recent tragedies have shown, cyberbullying has the power to destroy lives and communities. That is why our government has introduced legislation to crack down on cyberbullies and to stand up for victims.
The protecting Canadians from online crime bill will ensure that children are better protected by making it an offence to distribute intimate images without the consent of the person depicted. We have always been clear that there is a point where bullying goes beyond just words and becomes criminal behaviour.
Distributing images of a person against his or her will should be a crime, which is why we are acting to strengthen the Criminal Code. We are also acting to modernize the law so that police have the tools they need to better investigate these offences.
I hope the NDP will begin working with us so we can get the bill to the justice committee and hopefully passed into law as quickly as possible.