1995 Legislative Session: 4th Session, 35th Parliament
FIRST READING
The following electronic version is for informational purposes only.
The printed version remains the official version.
MR. JEREMY DALTON
HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, enacts as follows:
1 This Act shall be cited as the Child Protection Act.
2 Section 1 of the Motor Vehicle Act, R.S.B.C. 1979, c. 288, is hereby amended by the deletion of section (c) of the definition of "motor vehicle related Criminal Code offence" and replacing it with the following:
(c) an offence committed on or after December 12, 1988 under section 212 (4), 220, 221, 236, 249 (1) (a), (3) or (4), 252 (1), 253 (a) or (b), 254 (5), 255 (2) or (3) or 259 (4) of the Criminal Code.
3 This Act shall come into force by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
One of the most severe forms of child abuse in Canada today is youth prostitution.
This Bill amends the Motor Vehicle Act to better protect youth who are sexually abused by adults through the trade of prostitution.
Adults will be deterred from purchasing sexual services from youth under the age of 18 years as they will have their driver's license automatically suspended if they use a motor vehicle in the commission of the related criminal offence of purchasing juvenile sexual services.
The Criminal Code was amended in 1988 to penalize any person who purchases sexual services from youth under the age of 18 years old. Just as a number of provincial statutes supplement federal criminal sanctions for offenses such as impaired driving, this Bill will nsure that an appropriate deterrent is enacted to address those who would exploit a sexually abuse youth.
Studies indicate that the majority of the consumers of child prostitution utilize their vehicle in the commission of their crime. This Bill would create the immediate deterrent of losing their driving privileges for conviction of this crime.
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