Sexual age of consent raised to 16 today

From Brongersma
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Canada's age of sexual consent will be bumped up two years to 16 beginning Thursday. The change means adults who have sex with boys or girls aged 14 and 15 years old could face criminal charges. Canada's age of consent has been 14 since 1892. The legislation was brought in by the Conservative government in part to deal with older internet predators who troll the web looking for younger victims.

Canada's age of consent will now be in line with other countries, such as Britain and Australia, and most American states. The intent of the new law is not to criminalize teenage sex, but to crackdown on adults who prey on youth, former justice minister Vic Toews said when the bill making the change was introduced.

source: 'Sexual age of consent raised to 16 today'; www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080501/consent_bill_080501/20080501; CTV.ca (The Canadian Press); 1 May 2008