Department of Justice

JUSTICE MINISTER INTRODUCES MEASURES TO BETTER PROTECT CANADIANS AND SAFEGUARD CHILDREN FROM CYBER CRIMINALS

OTTAWA, March 14, 2001 – Today in the House of Commons, the Honourable Anne McLellan, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada introduced an omnibus bill that will better protect Canadians. Several amendments in today's bill fulfil the Speech from the Throne commitment to protect children from crime and from criminals on the Internet.

"There is no doubt that the Internet has expanded our horizons. Nevertheless, while we capitalize on the opportunities and benefits it brings, we must also confront its potential dangers," said Minister McLellan. "We know that criminals use the Internet. Combatting crimes committed using the Internet is crucial, particularly when it comes to the most vulnerable members of our society – our children."

Proposed legislation to better protect children from sexual exploitation will:

• create a new offence that targets criminals who use the Internet to lure and exploit children for sexual purposes;
• make it a crime to transmit, make available, export and intentionally access child pornography on the Internet;
• allow judges to order the deletion of child pornography posted on computer systems in Canada;
• allow a judge to order the forfeiture of any materials or equipment used in the commission of a child pornography offence;
• enhance the ability of judges to keep known sex offenders away from children by making prohibition orders, long-term offender designations and one-year peace bonds available for offences relating to child pornography and the Internet; and
• amend the child sex tourism law enacted in 1997 to simplify the process to prosecute Canadians who sexually assault children in other countries.

Today's omnibus bill also revives legislation that was introduced in the House of Commons during the last Parliament as Bill C-17 and Bill C-36.

"Bills C-17 and C-36 contained many important proposals that underscore the gravity of crimes that endanger people's personal security and threaten police officers who protect Canadian communities," said Minister McLellan. "The introduction of today's bill is an efficient way to get these serious issues back on the Parliamentary agenda as early as possible."

The amendments will enhance Criminal Code provisions on various kinds of criminal activity, including:

Criminal harassment (or "stalking") – An amendment will double the maximum sentence from five to ten years imprisonment. This increase in maximum sentence will underscore the serious nature and impact of criminal harassment.

Home invasion – Amendments will specifically identify home invasion as an aggravating circumstance to be considered by judges at the time of sentencing.

Disarming a police officer – A new Criminal Code offence will make it a crime to disarm or attempt to disarm a police officer. The creation of this offence recognizes that an attempt by a suspect to take an officer's weapon dramatically raises the level of risk police officers face in the line of duty.

Cruelty to animals – The maximum penalty for intentional cruelty will be raised to five years in prison with no set limit for fines. Judges will have discretion to ban anyone convicted of cruelty to animals from owning one for however long is appropriate. The strengthened penalties signify the seriousness of these acts that are often warning signs of subsequent violent behaviour aimed at people.

Other significant measures proposed in this omnibus bill will strengthen the justice system in the areas of:

Conviction review – Amendments to the Criminal Code will improve the process for reviewing allegations of wrongful conviction. Conviction review will be expanded to include the review of summary conviction offences, provide investigative powers to those investigating cases, and require the Minister of Justice to provide an Annual Report to Parliament on the operation of conviction reviews. Non-legislative changes will also be made to improve the operation and efficiency of the review unit.

Criminal procedure reform – Changes will modernize the justice system and increase its efficiency and effectiveness by, among other things, facilitating the use of electronic documents and remote appearances. The amendments will also help to limit the potentially negative impact of preliminary inquiries on victims and witnesses while retaining the right of the accused to a preliminary inquiry.

Administrative amendments to the Firearms Act – The proposed amendments to the the Canadian Firearms Program (CFP) are administrative in nature and respond positively to firearm owners and other Canadians. The amendments will make it easier for Canadians to comply with the requirements of the Firearms Act, improve public access to program services and information and provide police with faster access to data. These amendments will also allow Canada to fulfil its international obligations to help curb the international movement of illegal firearms.

Other amendments in the omnibus bill will make changes to the National Defence Act and the National Capital Act.

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Ref.:

Minister's Office
Farah Mohamed
Director of Communications
Minister's Office
(613) 992-4621

Omnibus Bill (general)
Joan Howe
Communications Branch
Department of Justice
(613) 957-4205

Firearms
David Austin
Special Advisor
Canadian Firearms Centre
(613) 941-5371

The Omnibus Bill will be available online at: http://www.parl.gc.ca