OTTAWA — The federal government wants to expedite a review of “gaps” in the Criminal Code and introduce legislative reforms to address cyber-bullying, as the grieving parents of Rehtaeh Parsons told the prime minister Tuesday they felt “helpless” to save their daughter.

The family of Parsons, along with Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter, met separately Tuesday in Ottawa with Prime Minister Stephen Harper to urge him to introduce changes to federal laws that would address cyber-bullying and criminalize distribution of sexually explicit images without consent.

“We did everything we could, but we were drowning. We felt helpless,” Parsons’ father, Glen Canning, told reporters following a 45-minute meeting with Harper.

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“For the way the laws are set up in Canada right now, there was absolutely nothing we could do to help our daughter but stand there and watch her die.”

The family of Parsons says the 17-year-old Nova Scotia…