The Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs

has the honour to present its

FIFTEENTH REPORT

Your committee, to which was referred Bill C-22, An Act respecting the mandatory reporting of Internet child pornography by persons who provide an Internet service, has, in obedience to the order of reference of Tuesday, February 8, 2011, examined the said Bill and now reports the same without amendment 

Your committee has also made certain observations, which are appended to this report 

Respectfully submitted,

Joan Fraser
Chair

OBSERVATIONS

to the Fifteenth Report of the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs 

After receiving testimony from a broad spectrum of witnesses, including police services, government officials, Internet service providers, technical advisors, children’s rights advocates, academics, and those who currently monitor child pornography on the Internet, the committee is deeply concerned about the incredible proliferation of Internet child pornography. Tens of thousands of new images or videos are posted on the Internet every week and it is estimated that there are currently more than 5 million unique child sexual abuse images on the Internet. An estimated 500,000 individuals worldwide are actively involved in the trafficking of child sexual abuse images on the Internet. This is a crime of truly devastating proportions.

In this regard, witnesses appearing before the committee advised that in their opinions, technology now exists which would significantly assist in addressing, and in some cases eliminating, this scourge.

Bill C-22 is one means to assist the criminal justice system in keeping pace with technological advances while respecting Canadians’ rights. As a next step, the committee now urges the Minister to act expeditiously to inquire into the technologies available to combat child pornography on the Internet, to explore the further development and utilization of such technologies and, in so doing, to work with all relevant partners, including international partners, to make such technologies more widely available. The committee would appreciate being kept informed of developments in this regard.