Bill C-27
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2nd Session, 35th Parliament, 45-46 Elizabeth II, 1996-97
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The House of Commons of Canada
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BILL C-27 |
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An Act to amend the Criminal Code (child
prostitution, child sex tourism, criminal
harassment and female genital
mutilation)
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| Preamble
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WHEREAS the Parliament of Canada has
grave concerns regarding violence against
women and children and, in particular, child
prostitution, criminal harassment and female
genital mutilation;
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WHEREAS children, by virtue of their lack
of maturity, are more vulnerable than adults to
danger, exploitation and abuse and are in
greater need of protection;
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WHEREAS the 9th United Nations
Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the
Treatment of Offenders (Cairo, 1995) urged
Member States to adopt measures to prevent,
prohibit, eliminate and impose effective
sanctions against practices harmful to women
and children;
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WHEREAS the United Nations
Declaration on the Elimination of Violence
against Women (General Assembly resolution
48/104, 20 December 1993) and the Platform
for Action of the Fourth World Conference on
Women (Beijing, 1995) recognize that
violence against women both violates, and
impairs or nullifies, the enjoyment by women
of their human rights and fundamental
freedoms;
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WHEREAS the Parliament of Canada has
grave concerns regarding the prostitution of
children, whether in or outside Canada;
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WHEREAS, by ratifying the United
Nations Convention on the Rights of the
Child, Canada has undertaken to protect
children from all forms of sexual exploitation
and sexual abuse, and to take measures to
prevent the exploitative use of children in
prostitution or other unlawful sexual
practices;
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WHEREAS a strong statement denouncing
the exploitation of children involved in
prostitution, in particular by their procurers,
should be sent to the general public and, in
particular, to persons involved in the
administration of justice;
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WHEREAS the Parliament of Canada
wishes to strongly denounce criminal
harassment in Canadian society by
strengthening the criminal law in this area,
thereby providing further protection to the
life, liberty and security of women and other
victims of criminal harassment;
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WHEREAS the Parliament of Canada has
grave concerns regarding the practice of
female genital mutilation and in particular
where that practice involves children;
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AND WHEREAS the Parliament of Canada
believes that a clear statement that the
criminal law of Canada applies to the practice
of female genital mutilation will facilitate
ongoing educational efforts in this area;
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| R.S., c. C-46;
R.S., cc. 2, 11,
27, 31, 47, 51,
52 (1st
Supp.), cc. 1,
24, 27, 35
(2nd Supp.),
cc. 10, 19, 30,
34 (3rd
Supp.), cc. 1,
23, 29, 30, 31,
32, 40, 42, 50
(4th Supp.);
1989, c. 2;
1990, cc. 15,
16, 17, 44;
1991, cc. 1, 4,
28, 40, 43;
1992, cc. 1,
11, 20, 21, 22,
27, 38, 41, 47,
51; 1993, cc.
7, 25, 28, 34,
37, 40, 45, 46;
1994, cc. 12,
13, 38, 44;
1995, cc. 5,
19, 22, 27, 29,
32, 39, 42
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NOW, THEREFORE, Her Majesty, by and
with the advice and consent of the Senate and
House of Commons of Canada, enacts as
follows:
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1. Section 7 of the Criminal Code is
amended by adding the following after
subsection (4):
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| Offence in
relation to
sexual
offences
against
children
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(4.1) Notwithstanding anything in this Act
or any other Act, every one who, outside
Canada, commits an act or omission that if
committed in Canada would be an offence
against section 151, 152, 153, 155 or 159,
subsection 160(2) or (3), section 163.1, 170,
171 or 173 or subsection 212(4) shall be
deemed to commit that act or omission in
Canada if the person who commits the act or
omission is a Canadian citizen or a permanent
resident within the meaning of the
Immigration Act.
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| No
proceedings
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(4.2) Proceedings with respect to an act or
omission that if committed in Canada would
be an offence against section 151, 152, 153,
155 or 159, subsection 160(2) or (3) or section
163.1, 170, 171 or 173 shall be instituted in
Canada only if a request to that effect to the
Minister of Justice of Canada is made by
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| Consent of
Attorney
General
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(4.3) Proceedings referred to in subsection
(4.2) may only be instituted with the consent
of the Attorney General.
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2. (1) Paragraphs 212(1)(b) and (c) of the
Act are replaced by the following:
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(2) Paragraph 212(1)(f) of the Act is
replaced by the following:
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(3) Section 212 of the Act is amended by
adding the following after subsection (2):
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| Aggravated
offence in
relation to
living on the
avails of
prostitution of
a person
under the age
of eighteen
years
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(2.1) Notwithstanding paragraph (1)(j) and
subsection (2), every person who lives wholly
or in part on the avails of prostitution of
another person under the age of eighteen
years, and who
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is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding
fourteen years but not less than five years.
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| R.S., c. 19
(3rd Supp.),
s. 9
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(4) Subsections 212(3) and (4) of the Act
are replaced by the following:
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| Presumption
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(3) Evidence that a person lives with or is
habitually in the company of a prostitute or
lives in a common bawdy-house is, in the
absence of evidence to the contrary, proof that
the person lives on the avails of prostitution,
for the purposes of paragraph (1)(j) and
subsections (2) and (2.1).
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| Offence in
relation to
prostitution of
a person
under the age
of eighteen
years
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(4) Every person who, in any place, obtains
or attempts to obtain, for consideration, the
sexual services of a person who is under the
age of eighteen years or who that person
believes is under the age of eighteen years is
guilty of an indictable offence and liable to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding five
years.
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| Presumption
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(5) For the purposes of subsection (4),
evidence that the person from whom the
sexual services were obtained or attempted to
be obtained was represented to the accused as
being under the age of eighteen years is, in the
absence of evidence to the contrary, proof that
the accused believed, at the time the offence
was alleged to have been committed, that the
person was under the age of eighteen years.
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3. Section 231 of the Act is amended by
adding the following after subsection (5):
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| Criminal
harassment
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(6) Irrespective of whether a murder is
planned and deliberate on the part of any
person, murder is first degree murder when the
death is caused by that person while
committing or attempting to commit an
offence under section 264 and the person
committing that offence intended to cause the
person murdered to fear for the safety of the
person murdered or the safety of anyone
known to the person murdered.
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4. Section 264 of the Act is amended by
adding the following after subsection (3):
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| Factors to be
considered
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(4) Where a person is convicted of an
offence under this section, the court imposing
the sentence on the person shall consider as an
aggravating factor that, at the time the offence
was committed, the person contravened
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| Reasons
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(5) Where the court is satisfied of the
existence of an aggravating factor referred to
in subsection (4), but decides not to give effect
to it for sentencing purposes, the court shall
give reasons for its decision.
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5. Section 268 of the Act is amended by
adding the following after subsection (2):
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| Excision
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(3) For greater certainty, in this section,
``wounds'' or ``maims'' includes to excise,
infibulate or mutilate, in whole or in part, the
labia majora, labia minora or clitoris of a
person, except where
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| Consent
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(4) For the purposes of this section and
section 265, no consent to the excision,
infibulation or mutilation, in whole or in part,
of the labia majora, labia minora or clitoris of
a person is valid, except in the cases described
in paragraphs (3)(a) and (b).
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| 1992, c. 21,
s. 9
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6. (1) Subsection 486(2.1) of the Act is
replaced by the following:
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| Testimony
outside court
room
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(2.1) Notwithstanding section 650, where
an accused is charged with an offence under
section 151, 152, 153, 155 or 159, subsection
160(2) or (3), or section 163.1, 170, 171, 172,
173, 210, 211, 212, 213, 266, 267, 268, 271,
272 or 273 and the complainant or any
witness, at the time of the trial or preliminary
inquiry, is under the age of eighteen years or
is able to communicate evidence but may have
difficulty doing so by reason of a mental or
physical disability, the presiding judge or
justice, as the case may be, may order that the
complainant or witness testify outside the
court room or behind a screen or other device
that would allow the complainant or witness
not to see the accused, if the judge or justice
is of the opinion that the exclusion is necessary
to obtain a full and candid account of the acts
complained of from the complainant or
witness.
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(2) Section 486 of the Act is amended by
adding the following after subsection (2.1):
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| Same
procedure for
opinion
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(2.11) Where the judge or justice is of the
opinion that it is necessary for the complainant
or witness to testify in order to determine
whether an order under subsection (2.1)
should be made in respect of that complainant
or witness, the judge or justice shall order that
the complainant or witness testify pursuant to
that subsection.
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| R.S., c. 19
(3rd Supp.),
s. 14(1)
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(3) Subsection 486(2.2) of the Act is
replaced by the following:
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| Condition of
exclusion
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(2.2) A complainant or witness shall not
testify outside the court room pursuant to
subsection (2.1) or (2.11) unless arrangements
are made for the accused, the judge or justice
and the jury to watch the testimony of the
complainant or other witness by means of
closed-circuit television or otherwise and the
accused is permitted to communicate with
counsel while watching the testimony.
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| R.S., c. 23
(4th Supp.),
s. 1
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(4) Subsection 486(3) of the Act is
replaced by the following:
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| Order
restricting
publication
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(3) Subject to subsection (4), where an
accused is charged with
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the presiding judge or justice may make an
order directing that the identity of the
complainant or of a witness and any
information that could disclose the identity of
the complainant or witness shall not be
published in any document or broadcast in any
way.
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| Limitation
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(3.1) An order made under subsection (3)
does not apply in respect of the disclosure of
information in the course of the
administration of justice where it is not the
purpose of the disclosure to make the
information known in the community.
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| R.S., c. 19
(3rd Supp.),
s. 16
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7. Section 715.1 of the Act is replaced by
the following:
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| Evidence of
complainant
or witness
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715.1 In any proceeding relating to an
offence under section 151, 152, 153, 155 or
159, subsection 160(2) or (3), or section 163.1,
170, 171, 172, 173, 210, 211, 212, 213, 266,
267, 268, 271, 272 or 273, in which the
complainant or other witness was under the
age of eighteen years at the time the offence is
alleged to have been committed, a videotape
made within a reasonable time after the
alleged offence, in which the complainant or
witness describes the acts complained of, is
admissible in evidence if the complainant or
witness, while testifying, adopts the contents
of the videotape.
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| Coming into
force
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8. This Act or any provision thereof, or
any provision of the Criminal Code as
amended or enacted by this Act, comes into
force on a day or days to be fixed by order
of the Governor in Council.
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