Mr. Speaker, the proposed reverse onus recognizes that those accused of such offending may present heightened safety risks to their victims if released on bail.
The bill currently going through Parliament would also significantly strengthen sentencing, including for sexual offending. It is proposed that conditional sentence orders, also known as house arrest, be unavailable for serious sexual offences, including those against children.
Protecting children from sexual exploitation and abuse is a top priority for the federal government. The government has taken significant steps to strengthen laws, enhance its law enforcement tools and support victims. Canada's approach reflects the belief that every child has the right to grow up free from harm and that those who violate that trust will face the full force of the law. These amendments respond to concerns from provinces and territories, many of which have observed a troubling rise in conditional sentence orders being ordered in response to sexual offences, including child sexual offences, noting that these sentences were not sufficiently reflective of the gravity, nor sufficiently protected victims.
These concerns have prompted calls to restrict conditional sentence orders for those offences and to ensure that the use of conditional sentence orders remains consistent with the principles of denunciation and deterrence and promotes public confidence in the justice system. These targeted reforms reflect the government's commitment to addressing the serious harms caused by sexual offending and its profound impact on victims.
Bill C-14 also proposes adding a new aggravated factor at sentencing for repeat violent offending, which would include repeat violent sexual offending. An aggravating factor is a circumstance or detail about an offence that makes a crime more serious. Aggravating factors send a message to our courts that certain conduct justifies harsher sentences. These amendments would respond to ongoing calls to denounce and deter all repeat violent offending.
Federal, provincial and territorial governments have been actively collaborating on measures to strengthen the bail and sentencing regime for many months at the ministerial, deputy ministerial and officials' levels. The proposed amendments were developed in close co-operation with the provinces and territories, and reflect a collective agreement to support safer communities.
These changes are being advanced within the federal areas of responsibility and reflect commitments to bringing forward law reform in this area. However, a well-functioning criminal justice system requires action from the provinces and territories that are responsible for the administration of justice, which includes the conduct of the majority of prosecutions in Canada. Building on the bail and sentencing reform act, the Government of Canada has further committed to bringing forward additional legislative changes to address court delays, to strengthen victims' rights, to better protect people facing sexual and intimate partner violence and to keep children safe from crimes.