Department of Justice

AMENDMENTS TABLED ON CHILD PROSTITUTION, CHILD SEX TOURISM, CRIMINAL HARASSMENT AND FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION

OTTAWA, April 18, 1996 -- Amendments to the Criminal Code dealing with child prostitution, child sex tourism, criminal harassment and female genital mutilation were tabled in the House of Commons today.

"These measures will help curb the problem of violence against women and children," stated Allan Rock, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. "Abuses of this nature will not be tolerated".

The amendments on prostitution include a mandatory minimum sentence of five years' imprisonment for persons found guilty of profiting from juvenile prostitution, measures to facilitate the arrest of persons seeking the sexual services of minors, and measures to make it easier for young people to testify against their pimps.

The government is also taking action to deal with Canadians who obtain paid sexual services of children abroad. The amendments to the Criminal Code will allow proceedings to be instituted in Canada against Canadian citizens who engage in activities associated with child prostitution when they are out of the country.

As Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy mentioned in addressing the United Nations Commission on Human Rights on April 3, 1996, "The exploitation of children for money and other considerations is among the most disturbing of all abuses involving children". Minister Axworthy added that "This is one of the strongest signals we can send internationally about Canada's intolerance of such practices".

"Child prostitution is a serious problem," Minister Rock added. "With these measures, we are carrying through on the Throne Speech commitment to make the protection of children's rights a priority for our government."

The provisions on criminal harassment have been strengthened. Under these changes:

anyone who commits murder while stalking, if they intended to cause their victim(s) to fear for their safety while stalking, will face a 1st degree murder charge.

a court, when imposing sentence on a person who is convicted of stalking under a retraining order (peace bond), must treat that as an aggravating factor.

Another proposed amendment to the Criminal Code will clarify the fact that the practice of female genital mutilation constitutes a criminal offence in Canada.

Today's Bill reintroduces all the amendments of Bill C-119 tabled last December, with the addition of the provisions on child sex tourism. The Bill had died on the parliamentary Order Paper with the prorogation of Parliament last February.

Ref.:  Jennifer Lang          Yvan Roy
       Minister's Office      Department of Justice
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