Tuesday, November 15, 2022

The Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs has the honour to present its

EIGHTH REPORT

Your committee, to which was referred Bill S-210, An Act to restrict young persons’ online access to sexually explicit material, has, in obedience to the order of reference of December 8, 2021, examined the said bill and now reports the same with the following amendments:

1.Clause 11, page 6:

(a) Replace line 11 with the following:

“11 (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations for”;

(b) add the following after line 14:

“(2) Before prescribing an age-verification method under subsection (1), the Governor in Council must consider whether the method

(a) is reliable;

(b) maintains user privacy and protects user personal information;

(c) collects and uses personal information solely for age-verification purposes, except to the extent required by law;

(d) destroys any personal information collected for age-verification purposes once the verification is completed; and

(e) generally complies with best practices in the fields of age verification and privacy protection.”.

Respectfully submitted,

Observations to the Eighth Report of the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs (Bill S-210)

The committee recognizes that pornography is a reality that is increasingly pervasive given the ease of online access, including by young people. It has been said repeatedly during witness testimony that there are no perfect systems to prevent young people from accessing pornography. Young people are naturally curious and constantly learning; exploring one’s sexuality, having questions, and experimenting are all part of becoming an adult. This committee recognizes that sexual health education is one of the best safeguards against harm. Parents and educators need resources to ensure we are emphasizing awareness, consent, and body autonomy to young people. Bill S-210 is a laudable effort, but any legislation needs to be complemented with robust sexual-health education and better pornography literacy programs. Encouraging open dialogue, access to accurate and unbiased information, and ensuring judgment-free spaces are essential to healthy sexual exploration and healthy sexuality in general.

This committee encourages all levels of government across Canada to invest in and promote sexual health resources and education to help safeguard young people against the harms that can result from early and unrestricted access to pornography.