By Gudrun Schultz
OTTAWA, Ontario, February 8, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – One of the first acts of the new Conservative government will be to raise Canada’s age of sexual consent law from 14 years to 16 years. Justice Minister Vic Toews announced yesterday his intention to address the issue as soon as the House returns in April.
“One of the issues that I would like to see brought forward as quickly as possible is the age of protection, raising that from 14 to 16, and looking at, of course, bringing in a close-in-age exemption,” Mr. Toews told reporters after the first caucus meeting of the new government.
Canada’s current age of consent law dates from 1892. Conservative members have worked to raise the legal consent age without success. In September 2005 a bill to raise the age of consent was defeated by 68 votes, coming from the NDP, the Bloc Quebecois and a majority of Liberals. It is expected to pass without difficulty this spring.
“If raising the age of consent is done as a stand-alone bill, it could be accomplished fairly quickly, “Mr. Toews said. “That’s a priority of our government. That’s an example of how I would like to proceed.”
The need for change in the age of sexual consent law has taken on greater urgency with cases of adult predators luring young teens over the Internet. The new law will mean criminal charges for adults who have sex with girls or boys age 14 or 15. Under current Canadian law there is no way to prosecute adults unless they are in a position of authority or trust over the youth, in which case they can be charged with exploitation, of anyone under 18.
The law will contain a “close-in-age” exemption to avoid criminal charges against young teens who engage in consenting sexual activity with one another.
“We don’t want to criminalize consenting sexual conduct between youth. We want to protect young people from adult sexual predators,” said Mr. Toews.
See related LifeSiteNews coverage:
Canadian Parliament Votes Against Raising Age of Consent for Sex from 14 to 16
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/sep/05092906.html
Canada a Sex Tourism Destination?
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/mar/05031002.html