Mr. Speaker, reforms enacted by the Safe Streets and Communities Act, specifically those relating to child sexual offences, came into effect in August 2012. They increased the penalties for some child sexual offences, but more needs to be done to further protect our children.
Every day in Canada vulnerable children are the victims of sexual abuse. As was mentioned, over 3,900 sexual violations against children were reported to police in Canada in 2012, an increase of 3% from 2011, and the same increase was seen from 2010 to 2011.
There are also increased concerns regarding the mobility of travelling sex offenders. Internationally, approximately one million children are exploited by sex tourists and sex traffickers each year. This is unacceptable, and we must do more to deter and punish offenders. The new measures now being introduced would assist in ensuring that all child sex offenders are held fully accountable for acts of child sexual exploitation and abuse.