An act to amend the Criminal Code of Canada: that’s what London North-Centre MP Peter Fragiskatos is trying to do.
Fragiskatos was at the London Abused Women’s Centre to speak about what changes he hopes to see in the House of Commons.
On February 26th, Fragiskatos proposed changes to Bill C-242 in the House of Commons and on Wednesday, announced that he has been working to try to amend the changes.
Fragiskatos spoke with Megan Walker and a few guest speakers on the issue and London police Chief John Pare, deputy chief Steve Williams and Dr. Chris Mackie who is London’s top public-health official were all in attendance to hear Fragiskatos.
The Canadian Government recognizes torture as an offence but it does not express acts by private people.
The announcement comes in light of a high-profile case that occurred that has pushed the local MP to propose the change.
“It’s an issue that has certainly motivated me,” says Fragiskatos in an exclusive interview with XFM News. “I became aware of his case when it happened in 2010 and he and his family have been been asking for the changes in the criminal code and what they’re asking for matches for what I am asking for. What happened there is torture.”
Fragiskatos highlights that the United Nations does condemn the act, “When the UN Declaration of Human Rights says that ‘torture’ is something that has to be condemned, I think that our criminal code needs to recognize that, it does right now but it’s not sufficient.”
Jeanne Sarson is an executive of ‘Persons Against Non-State Torture‘ all the way from Nova Scotia and says that she has been advocating for the change for 23 years, “We started breaking the silence in 1993 and nobody wanted to listen, so the fact that Peter has listened to us has done something. He is really breaking the silence with us.”
If the changes are to occur, it will not be for a few years.
