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January Ottawa Justice Minister Jean […]
When
1981-01
Description
January Ottawa Justice Minister Jean Chrétien introduced Bill C–53, which was the Liberal government's response to the Law Reform Commission's 1978 Report on Sexual Offences. Bill C–53 proposed several revisions to the Criminal Code, including allowing for consensual group sex in private for people over the age of eighteen, and the introduction of special offences and penalties for people convicted of producing, distributing, or selling sexually explicit material depicting people who are or appear to be under sixteen years old. The proposed legislation also revised the age-of-consent laws by reducing the age of consent from twenty-one to eighteen years for homosexual acts, and introducing the concept of "laddering" to allow sexual activity for people less than sixteen years old with someone less than three years older. The government received hundreds of petitions and letters opposing the changes, and on June 15, 1982, Chrétien withdrew the amendments, including those decriminalizing buggery and sexual acts between more than two consenting adults. A watered-down Bill C–127 replaced Bill C–53, and passed in the House of Commons in August 1982. Many proposed reforms had been shelved, including those relating to child pornography. Buggery remained an offence, as did sex between more than two consenting adults at a time. The age of consent for homosexual acts remained at twenty-one.
