QUESTION PERIOD — Justice
Removing Illegal Online Content
June 28, 2021
My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate.
Last Wednesday, at the very end of the session, the Minister of Justice introduced a bill to combat online hate.
Imagine the disappointment of the many victims of porn sites who were expecting the government to address the non‑consensual distribution of intimate images and child pornography.
Notably, over six months ago, in the wake of the Pornhub scandal, Minister Guilbeault promised that he would introduce a bill to that effect in the winter or spring so that the government, and not the victims, could take on the responsibility of having these illegal images removed from the internet.
Why are we left with this gaping hole in the bill?
Thank you for the question, honourable senator.
There are a number of important priorities that the government wanted to move forward with, but that didn’t progress as quickly as it had hoped they would. I know that all senators are ready and eager to get to work on these bills.
The Minister of Justice and the Minister of Canadian Heritage both worked on drafting a bill to better protect Canadians against online harm and hate.
The Minister of Justice tabled Bill C-36 on hate propaganda, as you’ve mentioned, and the Minister of Canadian Heritage is drafting a bill to make online platforms accountable, while requiring them to monitor and delete illegal and harmful content, including content showing child sexual exploitation.
The Canadian government remains committed to advancing the work on these important questions.
Senator Gold, it has been six months since the Pornhub scandal first broke, and no criminal proceedings have been brought against a major porn site headquartered in Montreal, despite the growing number of devastating first-hand accounts from victims. Yet Minister Lametti has said repeatedly that we have all the tools needed to take action under our Criminal Code.
Just recently in the United States, last Friday in fact, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that Facebook can be held liable for child sex trafficking. So why are Canadian victims being left to fend for themselves?
Thank you for the question, senator.
We do have tools, in the Criminal Code, along with well-established processes under which complaints and legal proceedings must be initiated by Crown prosecutors at the provincial level before eventually requiring a court hearing.
It takes time, but all I can say is that the court system is accessible. It’s frustrating, undoubtedly, but the judicial process is slow.
