A controversial title, even for a weblog post, for sure, but this is an important issue for Canada to deal with.
Lately it looks like there may soon be a push in Parliament to raise the age of consent for sexual activity from its current 14 to 16.
Here's an excerpt from the actual law as it stands today:
The Criminal Code does not now criminalize consensual sexual activity with or between persons 14 or over, unless it takes place in a relationship of trust or dependency, in which case sexual activity with persons over 14 but under 18 can constitute an offence, notwithstanding their consent. Even consensual activity with those under 14 but over 12 may not be an offence if the accused is under 16 and less than two years older than the complainant. The exception, of course, is anal intercourse, to which unmarried persons under 18 cannot legally consent, although both the Ontario Court of Appeal(3) and the Quebec Court of Appeal(4) have struck down the relevant section of the Criminal Code.
That'd be a good idea, though it should be even higher, like perhaps the legal drinking age, 19.
Why, one cannot even legally drive until 16. One cannot purchase, view, pose for or act in pornographic media until at least 18. One cannot legally drink alcohol until 19 or even more. Why in the world would any rational person who cares about the well-being of children ever believe it couldn't be somehow harmful to a fourteen-year-old to have sex with adults of all ages? Who among us believes the average 14-yr-old possesses the intellectual and emotional capacity to engage in such activity without being somehow harmed, exploited, etc.? We're talking fourteen, for heaven's sake! Just think about all the other age restrictions on the other things above and ask why fourteen for this?
Indeed, this is a question I'd like to see Liberal Justice Minister Irwin Cotler answer without the standard political BS.
The Canadian Sentinel hereby challenges Minister Cotler, Prime Minister Paul Martin, the Liberals, the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois to prove the age of consent should be left so low and to prove that anyone would be harmed by raising the AOC to 16.
Anyone else want the leftists to justify their preference for such a lack of state protection for the vulnerable children of Canada?
Feel free to give your point of view. Don't be shy about criticizing the government- it's your right under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Don't be shy. Let them know what you think about their cavalier, extreme lack of caring for Canadian children.
The comments section here is, as always, open.
Update: Sept. 29, 2005:
The Liberals, the NDP and the Bloc have voted down the CPC bill to raise the AOC from 14 to 16.
Which returns us to the question asked in the title of this post. Once again the left has shown its true colors of brown, green and grey, rather than their claimed "rainbow" colors.
Each day now brings with it more damning evidence of dangerous "liberal" leftist extremism, meaning it's increasingly critical to wipe the political slate clean of "Liberal" tyranny in the upcoming election.
