Justice committee  Yes, the risk is high, and the best factor to predict that a person will not reoffend is age. My colleagues will probably agree with that, at least one of them will. For a number, or a category of offenders—when we refer to pedophiles we are talking of only 20% of the abuser popu

Justice committee  No, no. In fact I precisely drew a distinction between extrafamilial sex offenders, and that includes pedophiles, and intrafamilial offenders. I drew a very clear distinction there.

Justice committee  I think that Canada at one point took a good decision on this subject by creating the long-term offender or dangerous offender designation. I think that this decision was probably based to some extent on this type of observation.

Justice committee  Exactly. So, I would like to emphasize this point. It is not an opinion. It is based on research from the United States that has been repeated, in fact.

Justice committee  The logical basis for this bill rests on the notion of a sliding scale, in other words, proportionality. I think that for a series of offences or crimes, mandatory minimum sentences can be light, because, it would seem to me that they are rather symbolic in nature and their hars

Justice committee  That is what I said.

Justice committee  Yes, or heterosexuality. If, for instance, you were living in a society where heterosexuality is proscribed or prohibited and you were told that you had to get therapy to change your sexual orientation, you would probably say that that is slightly crazy. In other words, you would

Justice committee  That is correct.

Justice committee  I could not provide a better answer. Your question makes me somewhat uncomfortable in that I do not have a clear answer for you. Perhaps I may digress a bit.

Justice committee  In response to a question that was asked a moment ago, there was reference to the fact that therapy for the abuser could to some extent help him heal his own victimization. On this point, I would like to refer to the results from some studies. I am thinking, for instance, of stu

Justice committee  I also only read the briefing.

Justice committee  Yes, that's what I said.

Justice committee  Personally, no.

Justice committee  The same.

Justice committee  I have been involved in therapy programs for victims. Again, I would be cautious. I do not believe that most of the programs we currently have on the market should be suggested for or imposed upon children in a standardized or automatic way. Here, as elsewhere, we have to approac