Yesterday, I rose in the House of Commons for the second time to read Bill C-51, An Act to Amend the Criminal Code and the Department of Justice and make Consequential Amendments to Another Act.
Bill C-51 contains four categories will protect Canadians, uphold the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, hold offenders to account, and shows the utmost compassion for victims. By clarifying and strengthening the law of sexual assault, amending and removing provisions that have been found to be unconstitutional by the courts, removing obsolete or duplicate offenses, and creating a new statutory duty for the Minister of Justice to table a Charter Statement government bill, Bill C-51 will, in turn, lead to a fairer, clearer, more accessible criminal justice system.
It is one of the most important roles of the federal government to ensure that we have the best possible legal framework in place to ensure that our communities are protected and that victims are treated with respect. These measures put forward yesterday are one step in this process.