Moved third reading of Bill C-291, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and to make consequential amendments to other Acts (child sexual abuse and exploitation material).

She said: Honourable senators, I rise today to speak to the third reading of Bill C-291, An Act to amend the Criminal Code, and to make consequential amendments to other Acts (child sexual abuse and exploitation material).

I have proudly sponsored this bill in the Senate because it makes a significant and important change in the way sexual crimes against children are perceived, including under Canada’s Criminal Code. The premise of the legislation is fairly simple. It replaces two words in the Criminal Code — “child pornography” — with six words that more accurately represent the gravity of these crimes — that is to say, “child sexual abuse and exploitation material.”

Words matter. The term “pornography” more widely applies to sexual depictions involving consenting adults. Such consent can never be freely given in the production of so-called child pornography, given the age of the victim involved and the power imbalance inherent in the child-adult dynamic. That is why a more accurate term, and one widely used by law enforcement and victims’ advocates, is “child sexual abuse and exploitation material.”

Bill C-291 provides a simple but important change. As another senator said to me before we studied the bill at the Senate Legal Committee in September, “This is exactly what an MP’s private member’s bill should do.” The bill is limited in scope, but significant in impact, and draws from the personal experience of its initiators.

Sexual crimes against children are a scourge in Canadian society. Statistics released this year indicate 45,816 recorded incidents of online child abuse and exploitation material between 2014 and 2022. The rate of these incidents increased by a whopping 290% during this time frame. Girls are overrepresented in these statistics, with girls aged 12 to 17 comprising 71% of all online sexual abuse child victims. Certain vulnerable groups, including Indigenous and LGBTQ2S+ children, are also particularly at risk.

An increase in the reporting of these crimes is partially responsible for the notable increase in the statistics. One of the aims of Bill C-291 — to more accurately name the serious nature of these crimes against children as “exploitation and abuse” rather than “pornography” — is to raise awareness of these crimes, which will hopefully lead to further increased reporting to law enforcement and better keep children safe.

Bill C-291 was conceptualized by my national caucus colleague and former Crown prosecutor MP Frank Caputo. Our colleague MP Mel Arnold sponsored the legislation, as he had an earlier opportunity to introduce a private member’s bill in the House of Commons. When they testified before our Senate Legal Committee, both MPs explained the reasons they feel this bill is important. MP Mel Arnold said:

Words are so important. That’s why we are moving this bill through. Pornography, as you stated, typically depicts consenting adults. Children cannot legally consent to sexuality. That’s why it is truly sexual abuse and exploitative material.

. . . that’s what it comes down to. The words in the code and in our legislation should properly depict what it is they’re talking about. I don’t believe there’s anything that is truly child pornography. I believe it is all child sexual abuse and exploitation material.

MP Frank Caputo described his inspiration for this bill when he said this:

For the people who are impacted by this, this —

— child pornography —

— is viewed as an antiquated term. If it’s viewed as an antiquated term professionally — and it’s actually viewed as inappropriate logically for equating pornography with child abuse and sexual abuse — then frankly, this is long overdue. This is something we should have done years if not decades ago. The inspiration for me is just to get it right.

This initiative has met with much enthusiasm among parliamentarians and the public alike. Bill C-291 has received endorsement from major child protection and advocacy organizations, including the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, Ratanak International and First Call Child and Youth Advocacy Society.

Victims of these crimes also recognize the need for this wording change. Mr. Caputo recounted his personal experience with victims of child sexual abuse and exploitation who are appreciative of the change in terminology this bill will implement. He said:

I had somebody who saw my initial speech, and . . . they said they felt so validated. Somebody who has been through this and was a victim can say, “What I went through wasn’t pornography. It was abuse, so call it that.”

Another person who was talking to me randomly one day . . . said, “Tell me about your work.” So I started talking about it, and I’ll never forget this: This person just grabbed me and hugged me while I was essentially mid-sentence.

To this point, Bill C-291 has garnered widespread support in Parliament. The bill passed unanimously in the House of Commons on February 1, 2023. I spoke at second reading in the Senate chamber on March 30, 2023.

Senators have been overwhelmingly in support of this bill as well. Senator Patterson, the Senate critic for this legislation, and Senator Busson have been particularly supportive of this bill becoming law, and I certainly appreciate their cooperation with that.

Bill C-291 waited for a long time to be studied at the Senate committee stage. Our Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee finally studied it two weeks ago, and I am pleased to report that the bill received unanimous support there too. I remain hopeful that this bill will receive speedy passage here soon for the protection of vulnerable children.

The impact of child sexual abuse and exploitation material is lifelong. It affects a victim’s self-esteem, body image, relationships, sense of safety and security — the list goes on — touching practically every facet of a person’s life. Beyond the immense physical and mental suffering caused by the hands-on, direct abuse, the distribution and recirculation of child sexual abuse and exploitation material, especially on the internet, means that victims are revictimized endlessly by anonymous perpetrators who access the material after the fact.

In the Canadian Centre for Child Protection’s 2017 Survivors’ Survey, one respondent described the impact this way:

. . . it never stops, never. Even after 20 years, my old photographs can serve as satisfaction for men whose hands I may be shaking. It makes it worse that everything is documented and that because of this it never is really ever over.

Many of these victims live in fear of being recognized from the depictions of their abuse. Some fear blackmailing or stalking. Many respondents described the agony of not knowing whether people they encountered later in life had seen the images or depictions of their childhood sexual abuse, making it difficult to trust others or form relationships. Another respondent said:

The fact that imagery was made makes it even dirtier, rottener and scarier. It’s a feeling like a ticking bomb. You never know when something like that can turn up, by whom or how you’ll get confronted with it. Maybe it will never happen but you’re always waiting in apprehension.

Many child sexual abuse and exploitation victims find it hurtful for the recording or depiction of their childhood abuse — an endless reminder — to be described as “child pornography.” One survivor summed it up by saying that there is:

No such thing as child pornography — so I get angry when I hear that statement. There are only images of children being sexually abused or images being used for sexual gratification. . . .

MP Frank Caputo described the need for a more accurate description of this child sexual abuse and exploitation material as a major impetus for the creation of this bill. He recounted at committee:

Some people actually don’t even know they have been abused until well later in life. . . .

I know of instances where people realized this in their thirties. There was that trauma that was under the surface, which relates to the seriousness of this. . . .

One of my struggles in dealing with victims is that they are often, I say, imprisoned. They are serving a psychological life sentence. I used to teach a sentencing class, and we would talk about proportionality of sentencing. When we reflect the seriousness of this offence in the words, that is incredibly important, because when you meet somebody who is victimized — and you will meet them in their forties, fifties, sixties or even a few months after — the impact doesn’t leave. That is the importance of this bill, in my view. . . .

MP Mel Arnold also described the profound impact viewing child sexual abuse and exploitation material has on the law enforcement officials who must review or investigate it. The mental and emotional trauma of viewing abuse images and recordings weighs heavily on officers who work in this area, with some developing post-traumatic stress disorder as a result. Mr. Arnold said:

. . . I want to take a second to thank every individual investigator, police officer and enforcement officer who has ever had to endure a case or an investigation with this type of material. I can’t imagine it. . . .

His voice filled with emotion, MP Arnold continued:

I’m a proud grandfather of a 3-year-old. I can’t imagine anybody getting away with anything like that because of a term in a bill that we can correct. . . .

This is exactly it, honourable senators. We have the ability right here and right now to make this small change in Bill C-291 — a small change to the Criminal Code that can make a huge difference for victims of childhood sexual abuse and exploitation and for the law enforcement community. Furthermore, changing the term “child pornography” to “child sexual abuse and exploitation material” will bring Canada better in line with other countries around the world that are already using the more appropriate, modern phrase.

In 2016, the organization now known as ECPAT International, a global alliance of organizations working to end child sexual exploitation, produced the Luxembourg Guidelines to harmonize and strengthen advocacy around the world. These guidelines rejected the term “child pornography” because it inadvertently legitimizes the abuse and exploitation inherent in the material. The alliance advocated replacing the term with the more victim-centred language of “child sexual abuse and exploitation material.”

Bill C-291 would bring Canada in line with the most appropriate terminology used internationally. Updating the language of Canada’s statutes to this international standard would help overcome misunderstandings caused by differing terminology when child sexual abuse and exploitation investigations and prosecutions reach across international borders.

Another issue I want to address is one that emerged during second reading debate here in the Senate: the question of the terminology pédosexuel in the French version of this bill. This was a matter raised by Senator Miville-Dechêne at second reading, who wondered whether there might be a more appropriate term. I want to address that to tell you what I’ve learned about that issue since and clear up any misconceptions about it.

The prefix pédo is meant to refer to the concept of child, not “pedophile.” As Senator Miville-Dechêne herself indicated that day, it is a correct term, although perhaps used less often than other phrases she noted.

I also note that the federal government passed a coordinating amendment regarding Bill C-291 in Bill S-12, An Act to amend the Criminal Code, the Sex Offender Information Registration Act and the International Transfer of Offenders Act. This coordinating amendment included the term pédosexuel in the French text. Given that it was a government bill and the amendment passed, it is obvious that the federal government is comfortable with that term.

When I asked Senator Gold about this coordinating amendment, which added language in Bill S-12 to refer to “child sexual abuse and exploitation material” rather than the outdated term “child pornography,” Senator Gold said:

I believe it reflects the government’s agreement that the older way of describing this material was inappropriate, and that the definition advanced in the bill — which you sponsored here in the Senate — is a more appropriate and accurate way to describe this material. None of us wants to see it exist, but it does exist, and, therefore, it needs to be dealt with appropriately and under the Criminal Code.

That the Government of Canada used this revised wording in Bill S-12 and Senator Gold confirmed this to me in the Senate Chamber reassured me that the government also supports Bill C-291 in words and in action. I was glad to hear this, because an issue as important as the wording change in Bill C-291 should have support from all corners of this chamber, regardless of a senator’s personal partisan affiliation.

The fight against child sexual abuse and exploitation material transcends political considerations in Parliament. I have been heartened to see members of all stripes unite behind this legislation. As I said in my second reading speech:

Bill C-291 is a fundamental step in addressing the grim reality of child sexual exploitation in this country. To tackle this problem, we need to call it what it is: child sexual abuse and exploitation. This stomach-churning material is not consensual. It is not entertainment. It is not art. This is the abuse of vulnerable children, robbing them of their innocence, their childhoods, the very core of their identities over and over and over again.

Honourable senators, I hope you will join me and pass this bill swiftly. This change is practical. It is important, and it is pivotal to protecting Canadian children from sexual abuse and exploitation. Please join me and vote “yes” to Bill C-291 to make this change a reality. Thank you.

Honourable senators, I wish to thank Senator Batters for a good speech. I rise to say that this is a bill that I support fully. I feel that changing the label of that provision is a very important exercise. It sends a powerful message. At the same time, I felt very reassured by the comments that were made by the sponsor of the bill and the drafter of the bill, both of whom were witnesses before us. They said the intent was not to change the state of the law, not to change case law, not to change what was the impact on the working of the courts and of the Crown office and everything else, but to put emphasis on public awareness and a better understanding of what this provision is about. I am fully supportive of it. Changing the label sometimes means a lot. Thank you.

I’d like to thank Senator Batters for doing this research. This term certainly isn’t used very often, and I wasn’t even sure whether it was the right term, because it hasn’t been used for that long to discuss these issues. That doesn’t mean it’s not the right term. I think we’ll get used to it. Although we used the term “child pornography” for far too long, I think this new term is more appropriate, as you said, and I expect people will get used to it.

Thank you very much for taking a remark I made quite a long time ago into account.