QUESTION PERIOD — Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Royal Canadian Mounted Police--Investigation into Online Sexual Exploitation
March 15, 2021
My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate.
Today, 70 senators and MPs joined their voices to those of more than 100 victims of sexual exploitation in calling for the RCMP to conduct a criminal investigation into Pornhub, amid a growing number of allegations against the porn giant. We’ve learned that, two years ago, Pornhub told the RCMP that it was not subject to Canadian laws, which, of course, is completely false.
However, the RCMP indicated before a parliamentary committee that it has not opened an investigation, which leads us to the key question: Is MindGeek above the law?
Thank you for your question and for your commitment to this important issue. I also want to congratulate you on your appearance on “Les Coulisses du pouvoir” yesterday.
Every company that does business in Canada is subject to Canadian law, so the answer is simple. No company that does business with Canadians is above the law. Responsibility for the matter rests with the RCMP because, in our democracy, politicians must not interfere in this type of affair.
I certainly understand the separation of powers, but why is it that laws duly passed by Parliament are apparently not being enforced? Shouldn’t the government be concerned about the fact that MindGeek hasn’t reported a single potential case of sexual exploitation to the RCMP in 10 years?
The separation of powers is one thing, but I can’t wrap my head around the government’s failure to respond to so many first-hand accounts of women and girls being exploited by Pornhub.
As I’ve said a number of times, it’s becoming increasingly clear that what Pornhub and the other sites like it are doing is deplorable and disgusting. We’re aware of the harm done to the victims as well as to young people who have access to these images and videos.
That said, all I can do is reiterate that it’s up to RCMP officers to open an investigation so that provincial authorities can consider the outcome of the investigation and prosecute these companies if they deem it necessary to do so.
