(Peterborough, ON) Dean Del Mastro, Member of Parliament for Peterborough has voiced his support of a petition authored by his colleague, Blake Richards, Member of Parliament for Wild Rose, Alberta. The purpose of the petition is to prohibit persons convicted of sexually assaulting children from being pardoned for their crimes.
“I would like to urge the constituents of the Peterborough Riding to join me in support of MP Richards’ petition.” stated MP Del Mastro. “This is a travesty of the Pardon process and should not be allowed. I urge all constituents to visit my website at www.deandelmastro.ca to demon- strate their support or come into my Riding Office to sign the petition in person.”
MP Del Mastro’s Constituency Office located at 1600 Lansdowne Street West, Unit # 3 in Peterborough.
To hear more about this issue, constituents are invited to tune in to MP Del Mastro’s radio show “Parliamentary Address” this Saturday, April 17th at 8:30 am on 100.5 Kruz FM Radio where the guest will be MP Blake Richards.
The original link to the petition at www.BlakeRichards.ca received hundreds of visits within hours of being posted on April 12th and has generated significant national media interest. MP Richards said he posted the document in response to local outrage that convicted sex offender Graham James had been pardoned in 2007 by the National Parole Board.
“Constituents were demanding a way to express their disgust at the news that individual had been pardoned,” Richards said. “I share their disgust that a man who preyed for so long on innocent children could be pardoned for those crimes, so I was happy to provide the petition. I urge residents to circulate it for signatures, if they feel as I do that these types of pardons put children at risk by limiting what we know about convicted sex offenders in our communities.”
The petition calls on the House of Commons to add sexual abuse of children to the list of crimes for which pardons will not be granted in Canada.
Federal Public Safety Minister Vic Toews announced last week in response to the news about this pardon that the rules governing pardons would be changed. MP Richards said it is impor- tant for concerned citizens to make their preference for the new rules clear as the Government moves forward with its reforms.
The petition can be viewed and printed from a link on the home page of MP Richards’ website at www.BlakeRichards.ca. The text of the petition follows below:
WE, THE UNDERSIGNED RESIDENTS OF CANADA, draw the attention of the House to the following:
- WHEREAS children are Canada’s most vulnerable citizens and deserve full protection from sexual offences; and
- WHEREAS sex offences are despicable crimes that must be condemned and punished; and
- WHEREAS pardons granted to convicted sex offenders serve to limit public awareness of their movements and whereabouts in Canadian communities; and
- WHEREAS concern for the safety of children and Canadian communities should be placed ahead of the interests of convicted sex offenders;
- THEREFORE, we your petitioners call upon the House of Commons in Parliament assembled to change the Criminal Records Act to prohibit the granting of pardons to convicted sexual of- fenders.
