With the 2013-2014 school year underway in West Central Alberta and across Canada, children of all ages are continuing their educations under the direction of caring and skilled teachers and other staff.
While some students may not be aware of the fact, they are in very good hands in schools in every province and territory.
For their part, parents and other caregivers will no doubt be watching their youngsters' progress with keen interest over the coming months.
Children are and have always been the nation's future – and their respective educations are a key part of preparing them for their future leadership roles.
Ensuring those same children are protected from harm, whether at school or in their day-to-day lives outside the classroom, is obviously in everyone's best interest.
As such the federal government's newly announced plans to enact legislation aimed at better protecting children from sexual exploitation is a positive move in the right direction.
“Our government continues to help make our streets and communities safer by cracking down on predators who abuse and exploit children,” said Prime Minister Stephen Harper in announcing the proposed changes.
“New legislative amendments will be introduced this fall to better protect children from a range of sexual offences, including child pornography, while ensuring that offenders receive tougher sentences.”
The proposed amendments would include the following:
• Increased penalties for offenders who commit sexual offences against children, especially those who violate the conditions included in probation orders, prohibition orders and peace bonds.
• Ensuring that sentencing takes into account each offence against each child, ending sentence discounts for multiple child sexual offences.
While Canada's current laws protecting children from exploitation are some of the best anyway, it is important that those laws be kept up to date through amendments like those now being proposed by the Harper government.
Although details of the new legislation are still to come, perhaps as early as this fall, these amendments certainly do appear to be a move in the right direction.
Alberta students are now back in classes, learning the lessons they will need to prepare them for the leadership roles that are awaiting them down the road.
At the same time, the dedicated teachers and other staff overseeing those children in this region should be applauded for their efforts and encouraged to keep up the good work.
At the same time, MPs of all parties are encouraged to work together to bring this new child protection legislation through the parliamentary process without delay.
