Statement made on 07 May 2009 by Senator Jim Munson
Hon. Jim Munson:
Honourable senators, my question is to the Leader of the Government in the Senate. The federal DNA Data Bank retains the DNA of Canadian youth convicted of crimes as minor as petty theft. For example, a 12-year-old who grabs a baseball hat off a playmate and runs away with it could be found guilty of robbery and be required to surrender his or her DNA to the state.
An Ontario judge has pointed out that even when the data bank destroys DNA profiles from young offenders, it keeps a portion of the original biological material that was seized. The data bank sends DNA profiles to scores of countries upon request as part of a little known INTERPOL exchange arrangement. Will the government arrange to put a halt to this terrible abuse?
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