Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to rise in this House today to speak to Bill C-26, the tougher penalties for child predators act.
Before I begin, I would like to thank the members of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights for their important study of the bill and for moving it forward in an expeditious manner.
Since our government was elected, we have taken tremendous steps forward to ensure that streets and communities are safe places to live, work, and raise our families. We have worked tirelessly for these changes, especially when it comes to protecting the most precious and vulnerable members of our society, our children.
In 2011, we strengthened the National Sex Offender Registry through the implementation of the Protecting Victims from Sex Offenders Act. This legislation ensures that every individual convicted of a sexual offence is automatically registered with the National Sex Offender Registry and must provide a DNA sample to the National DNA Data Bank. It also added provisions to include on the National Sex Offender Registry those individuals who have been convicted of sex offences abroad and who then return to Canada.
In addition to these key reforms, the Protecting Victims from Sex Offenders Act addressed several important operational issues, such as the inclusion of registered sex offenders' vehicle information in the National Sex Offender Registry and allowing federal and provincial correctional services to notify registry officials when a registered sex offender is admitted into custody or is released into the community, including for temporary releases of seven days or more.
Through the Safe Streets and Communities Act, passed in 2012, we strengthened the Criminal Code's prohibitions against sexual exploitation by creating new mandatory minimum sentences for existing offences related to child exploitation and by increasing the mandatory minimum penalty for other existing offences; by prohibiting convicted child sex offenders from having any unsupervised contact with a young person under the age of 16 or having unsupervised use of the Internet or other digital devices; and by prohibiting convicted child sex offenders from being in public places where children can reasonably be expected to be present, requiring them to remain in specified geographic areas, and requiring them to abstain from drug and alcohol abuse or use.
We have also passed legislation that makes it illegal to provide sexually explicit material to a child for the purpose of facilitating the commission of an offence against that child.
We have increased the age of protection, the age at which a young person can legally consent to sexual activity, to 16 years of age, where previously it was 14.
We also continue to keep Canadians safe at the border with our Canada Border Services Agency officers employing effective border policies that prevent sex offenders from entering Canada. In fact, in 2014 alone, referrals provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection concerning sexual offenders travelling to Canada led to 59 instances when the Canada Border Services Agency was able to refuse entry at the border.
We have reached significant milestones to make our streets and communities safer for everyone, but there is still work to do.
Canadians have the right to go about their daily lives without fear, and that is especially true when it comes to the fear of their children experiencing the emotional turmoil of sexual abuse.
In 2013, police reported approximately 4,200 incidents of sexual violations against children. That is a 6% increase from 2012. I am sure that all members can agree that one child victim is one too many.
We must ensure that our focus is balanced and that it protects the rights of victims and law-abiding citizens. This brings me to why I am speaking today. The changes proposed in Bill C-26 before us would allow our government to strengthen measures to better protect our children from sexual exploitation.
First and foremost, there are a number of amendments to the Criminal Code and the Canada Evidence Act, including requiring that those convicted of contact child sexual offences against multiple children serve their sentences consecutively, one after another, to recognize the serious nature of the offence against each victim; requiring that those convicted of child pornography and contact child sexual offences serve their sentences consecutively; increasing maximum and minimum penalties for child sexual offences; increasing penalties for violations of conditions of supervision orders; and allowing spouses to provide testimony that is often needed to secure convictions in these important cases.
This legislation will also make vital changes to the National Sex Offender Registry by enhancing law enforcement's knowledge of registered sex offenders who are travelling abroad. For example, a registered sex offender would be required to give advance notice of the dates and every address or location at which they expect to stay for travel of seven days or more outside Canada. Those with a conviction for a sex offence against a child would be required to provide this information for all travel, regardless of the duration of the trip.
As part of this legislation, we would improve information sharing about high-risk sex offenders between officials responsible for the National Sex Offender Registry and the Canada Border Services Agency. As it currently stands, officials in charge of the registry are not authorized to share information on registered sex offences with Canada Border Services Agency.
What is more, officers at the border are not able to provide information to the officials at the National Sex Offender Registry to confirm the date of a sex offender's departure and return and where the person has stayed outside Canada. It is of utmost importance that we give our border services officers the authority and information they need to do their jobs and keep Canadians safe.
Therefore, we are proposing that all registered sex offenders be required to report every driver's licence number and passport number they hold and the name of each respective issuing jurisdiction. This would enable officials to disclose this information to the Canada Border Services Agency with other identifying information about registered sex offenders, particularly in cases of high-risk child sex offenders, and ensure that they are included in the Canada Border Services Agency lookout system.
The final element in this bill would further contribute to the safety of our communities by providing the public with access to a database of information regarding high-risk child sex offenders. The high risk child sex offender database act would authorize the RCMP to establish and administer a national publicly accessible database containing information on high-risk child sex offenders who have been the subject of a public notification in a provincial or territorial jurisdiction. Public safety officials are consulting with their provincial and territorial counterparts to discuss public notifications for high-risk offenders and the criteria to be used to determine which high-risk child sex offenders would be included in the database.
In summary, the bill before us today would ensure that penalties for child sexual offences better reflect the serious nature of these crimes. We believe that all child sex offenders should be held fully accountable for their actions.
These heinous crimes cause unimaginable devastation in the lives of children and their families. This is why, as a government, we must do everything in our power to protect our most vulnerable. I am very pleased to know that all hon. members in this House support this important piece of legislation.