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e-2306 (Justice)

E-petition
Initiated by Daniela Siggia from Welland, Ontario

Original language of petition: English

Petition to the House of Commons

Whereas:
  • It is common knowledge that there are a multitude of survivors of childhood sexual abuse by hundreds of pedophile priests in the Catholic Church over many decades;
  • The Catholic Church has not released the names of pedophiles within its ranks and moved sexual predators around enabling ongoing abuse and evasion of criminal prosecution;
  • The social ripple effect this systemic sexual predation of children has cost Canada in silent suffering of victims leading to health, mental health, criminal and addiction costs to society;
  • We believe a public inquiry would send a message to survivors suffering in silence that it is safe to come forward to name their abusers to prevent further predation, but to also to facilitate survivors accessing the help they need. It would inform the public on systemic abuse of children and inform on establishing new policies that hold guilty priests accountable under the law, and prevent these acts of criminality to be repeated; and
  • We know that the majority of Catholics are innocent victims, as these priests predated among their most vulnerable members. An inquiry would help protect Catholics from further victimization and would lay the groundwork for truth and reconciliation for the Church as an integral member of Canada’s diverse and beautiful tapestry of faith.
We, the undersigned, #ChurchToo movement: comprised of Canadian residents, call upon the House of Commons in Parliament assembled to instigate a public inquiry compelling Catholic church leadership to testify under oath with a comprehensive investigation with the aim of not only identifying pedophile priests, but also the logistics operation established by leadership that helped facilitate the continued sexual predation of children

Response by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

Signed by (Minister or Parliamentary Secretary): The Honourable David Lametti

The Government of Canada is committed to protecting children from sexual harm, including by investigating and prosecuting those involved in abuse of children. The Canadian Criminal Code comprehensively prohibits all forms of child sexual abuse and exploitation, including through child-specific sexual offences (sections 151 to 153), as well as sexual assault offences (sections 271 to 273) that protect all Canadians.

The Government of Canada has various programs to assist in investigating prior sexual abuse and preventing future child sexual abuse. In furtherance of this goal, the Government of Canada has invested in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s (RCMP) various programs related to child sexual abuse.

For instance, the RCMP’s National Child Exploitation Crime Centre (NCECC) is a part of the RCMP’s National Police Services, which provide services to the entire law enforcement community. The NCECC is a key partner and the national law enforcement arm of the National Strategy for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation on the Internet. The NCECC works to reduce the vulnerability of children to online child sexual exploitation by identifying victimized children; investigating and assisting in the prosecution of sexual offenders; and strengthening the capacity of municipal, territorial, provincial, federal, and international police agencies through training, operational research and investigative support. The NCECC also engages with international partners to combat online child sexual exploitation and other forms of transnational offending worldwide and is the current Chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT). The VGT is an international police alliance dedicated to the protection of children from online sexual exploitation and other transnational child sexual offences.

Recent or historical situations involving child sexual abuse or exploitation can be reported to the local police force of jurisdiction or the RCMP.

Open for signature
November 29, 2019, at 9:17 a.m. (EDT)
Closed for signature
March 28, 2020, at 9:17 a.m. (EDT)
Presented to the House of Commons
Vance Badawey (Niagara Centre)
February 16, 2021 (Petition No. 432-00511)
Government response tabled
April 12, 2021
Photo - Vance Badawey
Niagara Centre
Liberal Caucus
Ontario