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September 8, 2004
Canadian Sex Tourism Laws
For once, I am in complete agreement with someone at Polspy.
Nancy Fielding wrote a short entry about 40-year-old Donald Bakker being convicted of international sex tourism, among other domestic crimes. He faces 12 counts of sex crimes against women in the Vancouver area, as well as 16 other charges of sex crimes against children in another country. Read about it here.
This law states that we can prosecute Canadians for sex crimes committed abroad. Theoretically it sounds like a wonderful idea, but it concerns me. This violates international law, and this is not to be taken lightly. We complain about other countries' abuse of international law, exploiting people in other countries. And while it is not exactly the thing that Canadians say they hate Americans doing (meddling in the affairs of other countries), it is awfully close.
This law also seems not very well put together, like that law that led to the acquittal of child abuser and pornographer John Robin Sharpe. I fear that someone will exploit weaknesses in the law to erode, rather than strengthen how and when we can police crimes of this nature in this country.
This is not a precedent we want to start, or rather, not one we want to continue.
Posted by JonasParker at September 8, 2004 9:02 AM
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