An Act to amend the Criminal Code (minimum sentence for offences involving trafficking of persons under the age of eighteen years)

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An Act to amend the Criminal Code (minimum sentence for offences involving trafficking of persons under the age of eighteen years)
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Parliament of Canada
  • An Act to amend the Criminal Code (minimum sentence for offences involving trafficking of persons under the age of eighteen years)
CitationSC 2010, c 3
Territorial extent Canada
Enacted by Parliament of Canada
EnactedJune 29, 2010
Legislative history
First reading January 29, 2009
Second reading April 22, 2009
Third reading September 30, 2009
First readingMarch 4, 2010
Second readingApril 21, 2010
Third readingJune 17, 2010
Summary
Specifies a mandatory sentencing of five years' imprisonment for those charged with the trafficking of children
Keywords
Human trafficking
Status: In force

An Act to amend the Criminal Code (minimum sentence for offences involving trafficking of persons under the age of eighteen years) [1] (the Act) was a private member's bill that was enacted on June 29, 2010, by the 40th Canadian Parliament. [2] Until that time, no other private member's bill had passed since the 2008 Canadian federal election. [3] The bill that led to the Act , Bill C-268, was sponsored by Joy Smith, Member of Parliament for Kildonan—St. Paul. [4] The act established a mandatory sentencing of five years' imprisonment for those charged with the trafficking of children within Canada. [5]

Before the bill was passed, there was already a maximum sentence for trafficking children in the country, but there was no minimum sentence. [6] A previous attempt to have the bill passed had failed because of prorogation. [7] At the first and second readings, the Bloc Québécois was the only political party that opposed the bill. [8]

Anti-pornography activist Judy Nuttall had tried to get the bill passed before the 2010 Winter Olympics; she said that poor children commonly become sexual slaves at internationally attended events such as the Olympic Games. [9] Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Ron Evans also supported the bill before it was passed, saying, "Bill C-268 is one step forward for the First Nations women and children of Canada." [10]

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References

  1. An Act to amend the Criminal Code (minimum sentence for offences involving trafficking of persons under the age of eighteen years), SC 2010, c 3. Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  2. Donald Oliver (June 29, 2010). "Debates of the Senate (Hansard)". Parliament of Canada . Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  3. "Canada Serves Up Justice for the "Voiceless People"". SOS Children's Villages – Canada. June 17, 2010. Retrieved May 29, 2013.[ permanent dead link ]
  4. "Private Member's Bill". Parliament of Canada . Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  5. Kate Chappell (June 28, 2010). "Abolish Slavery... in Canada". The Mark. Archived from the original on September 30, 2012. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  6. Mia Rabson (May 5, 2009). "Manitoba MP says Bloc standing in way of bill". Winnipeg Free Press . Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  7. Lorna Dueck (February 5, 2010). "Sex for sale is hardly sporting". The Globe and Mail . Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  8. "MP Joy Smith to Attend Human Trafficking Forum". The Filipino Journal . 23 (14). July 20 – August 5, 2009. Archived from the original on 2013-06-29. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  9. "Sex slave bill dies with Parliament's end". Barrie Advance . January 7, 2010. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  10. "Funding announced to stop the trafficking of aboriginal women and children". The Filipino Journal . 23 (8). April 20 – May 5, 2009. Archived from the original on 2013-06-29. Retrieved May 29, 2013.