Justice committee  Thank you. Mr. Chairman, members of Parliament, on behalf of the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to present to you our considerations in support of Bill C-22, an act to amend the Criminal Code on age of sexual consent The I

Justice committee  I'll just add my comments in here as well. In the vast majority of cases, it should be illegal. There are perhaps the odd extenuating circumstances, and perhaps the point Mr. Trudell has raised would deal with that. But if we're going to have a number, five years seems like a rea

Justice committee  As a point of clarification, the question was “Do you think the federal government should raise the current age of sexual consent from 14 to 16?” To that, 80% of respondents said yes. I think education is important in this issue, as it is in all issues. Unfortunately, the law i

Justice committee  There's a great deal of social science research in this particular area. I do not have that with me. I would be pleased to present that through the chair to the clerk of the committee to pass on to the rest of the members. There's certainly evidence that those children and those

Human Resources committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair, and to all members of the committee, for the opportunity to present information for your consideration on Bill C-303. The Institute of Marriage and Family Canada is a research think tank designed to draw together the social science on issues such as the rai

Human Resources committee  Thank you very much. In several orders there we are funded completely by foundations and independent donors. We're the policy arm of Focus on the Family Canada. We have been in operation for just over one year now. We receive no funding from any level of government, nor have we

Human Resources committee  As I indicated, we are funded by independent donors and private foundations. We have no affiliation with any university funding or government funding in any way, shape, or form. The quotes that I pulled for you, sir, were not actually my personal—

Human Resources committee  I've answered that question twice now, sir. Through the chair, let me just say that it's not my opinions I was actually expressing, but rather, quotes from the Montreal Economic Institute, which I did quote directly during my presentation.

Human Resources committee  No, sir. I hold up their document here from October 2006, their economic note.

Human Resources committee  They are the ones that indicated—

Human Resources committee  How much clearer can I be, sir? We have private foundations and private independent donors. If other records are indicated, we file with the Canada Revenue Agency through Focus on the Family Canada, which has been in Canada for almost 25 years as a non-denominational support gr

Human Resources committee  The universality is actually, I think, one of the key parts of the equation that you're trying to debate right now. We would certainly agree that there's a need for child care. However, under this bill, the definition of universality seems to fit the nine-to-five type of role. A

Human Resources committee  Thank you very much. Certainly our research has shown that the vast majority of parents would prefer to stay at home with their children to raise them. We know that's not always feasible, though, so I want to throw something else onto the table for you to consider as a part of

Human Resources committee  Our research has shown that parents--

Human Resources committee  Well, I haven't come here to tell you my personal opinion but rather to bring you the research we've done on this particular issue. I think that's more relevant to your debate.