Legal and Constitutional Affairs

Tuesday, March 24, 2026

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

FIFTH REPORT

Your committee, to which was referred Bill S-209, An Act to restrict young persons’ online access to pornographic material, has, in obedience to the order of reference of June 12, 2025, examined the said bill and now reports the same with the following amendments:

1.Clause 2, page 2:

(a)Replace line 13 with the following:

“pornographic material means, with the exception of the material referred to in the definition of child sexual abuse and exploitation material in paragraph 163.1(1)(a) of the Criminal Code, any photographic, film,”; and

(b)replace lines 15 to 20 with the following:

“was made by electronic or mechanical means, that

(a) shows the genital organs or anal region of a person engaged or depicted as engaged in explicit sexual activity; and

(b) is intended to cause sexual excitement. (matériel pornographique)”.

2.Clause 6, page 3: Replace line 21 with the following:

“organization that incidentally pro-”.

3.Clause 9, page 4: Replace line 31 with the following:

“(e.1) any appropriate information in relation to a system of administrative monetary penalties made by regulation under paragraph 12(1)(c); and”.

4.Clause 10, page 5: Delete lines 31 to 42.

5.Clause 12, pages 6 and 7:

(a)On page 6,

(i)replace lines 17 to 21 with the following:

“graphic material made available free of charge is not to be regarded as made available for commercial purposes;”,

(ii)replace line 23 with the following:

“tion methods referred to in subsection 7(1); and

(c) designating as a violation the failure of an organization that receives a notice under subsection 9(1) to take the steps referred to in paragraph 9(2)(c) within the period set out in paragraph 9(2)(d), establishing a system of administrative monetary penalties applicable to those violations and setting a range of amounts for those penalties.”, and

(iii)replace lines 35 and 36 with the following:

“age-verification or age-estimation purposes;”; and

(b)on page 7, add the following after line 9:

“(3) In establishing the system of administrative monetary penalties referred to in paragraph (1)(c), the Governor in Council must ensure that any representation made pursuant to paragraph 9(2)(f) is taken into consideration when determining if an organization has committed a violation and in determining the amount of the penalty.”.

6.Delete clause 13 and the heading before it, page 7.

7.Clause 14, page 7: Replace lines 26 and 27 with the following:

“14 This Act comes into force on a day to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council.”.

Respectfully submitted,

Observations to the Fifth Report of the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs (Bill S-209)

Numerous witnesses appearing before the committee emphasized the harmful and dangerous effects of pornography consumption on the mental and physical health of minors. In light of this evidence, the committee is of the view that the pornography industry in Canada is not doing its fair share to mitigate the harms associated with its activities.

Accordingly, the committee calls on the government to establish a framework ensuring that all costs related to the implementation of this bill, as well as any related measures, are borne by organizations that make pornographic material available on the Internet in Canada.

These organizations should be required to assume a financial burden commensurate with their responsibility for the negative public health impacts of their industry. The committee notes that traditional approaches (such as administrative monetary penalties) have proven insufficient to address these harms. It is therefore necessary to pursue alternative solutions that place responsibility on these organizations, rather than on Canadian taxpayers.

The committee observes that, while Bill S-209 establishes mechanisms intended to restrict young persons’ access to pornographic material, evidence heard during its study indicated that access-restriction and age-verification measures have inherent limitations and may not, on their own, prevent all forms of exposure or address the consequences of exposure when it occurs.

Witnesses noted that young persons may encounter such material through multiple pathways, including search results, social sharing, and content accessed outside regulated platforms, and that some young persons have already been exposed and may, in certain circumstances, experience adverse mental health, emotional, or psychosocial effects as a result.

The committee further heard evidence emphasizing the importance of complementary, non-coercive responses — including trauma-informed counselling, mental health supports, public education, digital literacy initiatives, and resources for families and educators — in mitigating potential harms and supporting affected young persons.

Testimony also raised considerations relating to privacy, freedom of expression, and proportionality under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Given these concerns, supportive and educational measures may strengthen the overall balance of legislative responses.

While the committee did not adopt amendments establishing a national support strategy, it observes that testimony identified a gap in coordinated harm-mitigation measures and is of the view that these matters warrant continued consideration by Parliament and the Government of Canada, consistent with constitutional principles, jurisdictional boundaries, and evidence-based best practices.