By Terry Vanderheyden
OTTAWA, June 1, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Canada’s Conservative government has tabled a change to the proposed age of consent bill, which was to raise the age of consent for sex from 14 to 16. The new change adds to the billÂa close-in-age exemption of five years. The exception means that a 14-year-old could still legally have sex with a partner who is up to 19 years of age, or a 15-year-old with someone who is 20.
Justice Minister Vic Toews, who promised action on the proposal sometime this spring, explained, “we don’t want to criminalize consenting sexual conduct between youth,” according to Globe and Mail coverage. He continued, “we want to protect young people from adult sexual predators.”
“Sixteen is I think an age [for consentual sex] that is supported by child caring agencies, by police agencies and indeed by the population in general,” said Toews, according to CTV news.
See CTV coverage:
https://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060531/age_consent_060531/20060531?hub=Canada