Child predators will face longer jail terms under a plan announced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Thursday.

The legislation to be introduced in the fall, aimed at cracking down on sex offenders who prey on children, will increase maximum and minimum sentences, require offenders to serve multiple sentences consecutively rather than concurrently, and compel the spouses of offenders to testify against them in court.

“As a father, frankly . . . I cannot even begin to comprehend why those who sexually prey on children do the heinous things that they do,” Harper said, speaking at a news conference in Toronto.

“The fact is we don’t understand them, and we don’t particularly care to,” he said.

The prime minister said child pornography offences have increased “dramatically,” noting that children are the victims of more than half of all sexual assaults.

According to statistics provided by Harper’s office, there were 3,900 sexual violations against children reported to police in 2012, a 3 per cent increase from 2011 and 6 per cent increase from 2010.

Harper used the example of Gordon Stuckless, convicted 15 years ago for sexually assaulting boys while he worked at Maple Leaf Gardens, as someone the government’s new legislation will help shield children from. Stuckless was paroled in 2001 after serving three years of a five-year sentence. He has since been arrested and faces more than 70 new charges.

NDP justice critic Françoise Boivin said though the crimes in question are the most “heinous,” making this announcement after proroguing Parliament is suspect.

“If it’s that important for the government, you don’t prorogue,” she said. “We could be working on (the legislation) right now.”

She also questioned why the legislation wasn’t part of Bill C-10, the omnibus crime bill passed in 2012, and criticized the government’s “piecemeal” approach.

Boivin, a lawyer by trade, also pointed out that forcing offenders to serve their sentences concurrently and imposing mandatory minimums may have an unintended effect. Defence lawyers may prompt their clients to try their luck in court instead of pleading guilty, which may amplify the backlog in an already overburdened system.

Sean Casey, the Liberal justice critic, was reluctant to comment on legislation that hasn’t been tabled, but said his party has already stated its opposition to mandatory minimum sentences.

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“If ever there was a crime that warranted mandatory minimum sentences, child abuse would be it,” he said. “But the research . . . is unanimous, that mandatory minimums do not deter crime. Isn’t that our goal?”

Harper took questions after the announcement, and when asked whether he had ever smoked pot, responded: “Do I seem like I’ve ever smoked marijuana?” before saying his asthma prevents him from smoking anything.

He said Liberal leader Justin Trudeau’s actions, referring to his recent admission that he smoked marijuana during his time as an MP, display “poor judgment.”

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