Bill C-245

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First Reading

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	1st Session, 36th Parliament, 46 Elizabeth II, 1997
	The House of Commons of Canada
	BILL C-245
	An Act to amend the Criminal Code (penalties for sexual offences involving children)
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; 1996, cc. 7, 8, 16, 19, 31, 34; 1997, cc. 9, 16, 17, 18, 23, 30	Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
	*1. Section 163.1 of the Criminal Code* is amended by adding the following after subsection (2):**
Definition of ``publica- tion''	(2.1) For the purposes of subsection (2), ``publication'' includes publication by electronic means, either by direct transmission to another person or by entering data by any means on an electronic system or net in such a way that it may be recovered and read or seen by another person by means of the system or net, whether or not the other person has to translate or convert the data in order to read or see it.
	2. Section 271 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (1):
Exception	(1.1) Notwithstanding subsection (1), if the victim of the assault, at the time the assault was committed, was
	(a) under the age of eight years, or
	(b) under the age of fourteen years and in the trust of, under the authority of, or in a relationship of dependency on, the offender,
	the offender is guilty of an indictable offence and is liable to imprisonment for life and, notwithstanding any other provision of this or any other Act, ineligible for parole until having served twenty-five years of the sentence.
	3. Section 279 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (2):
Forcible confinement of child or ward	(2.1) Every one who confines or imprisons his or her child or ward and thereby causes the child or ward to suffer physical harm, or significantly affects the mental health of the child or ward, is guilty of an offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding fourteen years.