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NEWS RELEASE |
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| June 7, 2005 | For
Immediate Release |
BREITKREUZ
STARTS WORK ON SCHOOLYARD BULLYING BILL
“Travis Sleeva’s death should be a wake-up call to
politicians at all levels.”
Ottawa – Garry Breitkreuz, M.P. for Yorkton-Melville, took up the cause of schoolyard bullying with this statement in the House of Commons today.
| Mr.
Speaker, I just received this letter from my constituent, Mrs. Carol
Sleeva of Canora, Saskatchewan:
My 16-year-old son Travis committed suicide on December 6, 2004 after several months of harassment from a group of school students. In his suicide letter he stated that he “just cannot take the fighting anymore”. I am writing in anticipation that you would be able to bring my message to Parliament for the following urgent request: Please revamp the Youth Justice Act to include “bullying” under the Criminal Code. This will allow for the RCMP to start putting an end to this hateful crime. The Youth Justice Act has obviously not been a deterrent for young offenders; in fact it is a joke to them. Our children need to be able to go to school and out in the community feeling safe and free from harassment from those who choose to be bullies in our society. Last
week, I started work that I hope will eventually lead to the introduction
of “Travis’ Bill” in this House. We need to urgently
amend the Young Offenders Act and implement a multi-pronged strategy
to address the serious bullying problem in Canada. |
“Travis Sleeva’s death should be a wake-up call to politicians
at all levels,” declared Breitkreuz. “As a former school teacher
and principal, I am in a position to understand how serious the problem
of schoolyard bullying is. As a federal politician, I am in a position
to press for solutions to the problem. Assessing blame serves
no useful purpose. It certainly doesn’t help the kids that are being
bullied today. If we are to develop a comprehensive and truly effective
anti-bullying strategy, we will need to focus all our resources on finding
solutions and implementing them quickly. I intend to use the full resources
of my office to achieve this goal. Travis Sleeva and his family deserve
nothing less.”
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Garry's statement on bullying can be heard by clicking here