Mr. Speaker, the disgusting criminals who prey on innocent children must face consequences that reflect the evil nature of their crimes and the suffering of their victims. However, on Friday, the Supreme Court of Canada decided to strike down mandatory jail time for child sexual abuse material offences.
One of the offenders from the case had hundreds of images of young girls, some as young as three. Another had hundreds of videos of young children between the ages of five and 10. As a result of the court’s ruling, these vile criminals will no longer face mandatory jail time. This is absolutely unacceptable. The court made its decision. Now it is time for parliamentarians to take action to protect innocent lives.
Conservatives are unequivocal in that children must be protected from predators, and this decision cannot be allowed to stand. By invoking the notwithstanding clause, we will restore mandatory jail time for these heinous crimes and ensure that these dangerous criminals are locked up behind bars where they belong.