Moved the adoption of the report, for Senator Jaffer.

He said: Honourable senators, I will be making the following remarks on behalf of the chair, Senator Jaffer, who is unable to be here today.

As per rule 12-23(4), in my remarks I will explain the amendments that the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs passed during its deliberations on Bill S-203.

The Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs has completed its study on Bill S-203, An Act to restrict young persons’ online access to sexually explicit material. It was introduced on September 30, 2020, by Senator Julie Miville-Dechêne. The bill proposes a new law that aims to protect young persons by making it an offence to make sexually explicit material available to them on the internet for commercial purposes.

As stated in the bill’s preamble, online age verification technology is becoming increasingly sophisticated. During the committee’s hearings, we explored with witnesses how new techniques could be used to effectively ascertain the age of users without breaching their privacy rights. We also heard from witnesses about other topics, including the potentially harmful effect of watching pornography on young persons. The bill added that a person will not be convicted of the new offence if they posted the material for a legitimate purpose related to science, medicine, education or the arts, or if they can demonstrate that they implemented an appropriate age verification method to limit online access. The bill also includes mechanisms to require internet service providers to block access to sexually explicit material that is being made available to young persons.

The committee made several amendments to Bill S-203 during its clause-by-clause study. Amendments 3, 4 and 5 are of an editorial nature that made minor corrections, but there were several other substantive changes. Amendments 1 and 2 changed the minister responsible for implementing the bill from the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness to a minister to be designated by the Governor-in-Council. This change will ensure that cabinet has the flexibility to determine which minister will be most appropriate to monitor and respond to this type of illegal activity on the internet.

Amendments 6 and 7 changed the compliance mechanisms under the proposed new law. Witnesses had expressed concerns about the framework in the original drafting, where the Minister of Public Safety was responsible for providing notice to internet service providers when further steps needed to be taken after the new offence has been committed. With amendment 6, the Governor-in-Council designates an agency, division or branch of the government as the enforcement authority for the new law. With amendment 7, when this enforcement authority has reason to believe that a person or corporation has committed an offence, it can send them a notice with the steps that need to be taken to address the illegal activity. If these steps are not complied with, the enforcement authority could apply to the Federal Court for an order requiring internet service providers to prevent access to the sexually explicit material.

Amendment 7 would also require the designated minister to table an annual report to each house of Parliament pertaining to the administration and the implementation of the law. This report must also include the number of notices issued by the enforcement authority, the number of applications made for an order requiring internet service providers to prevent access to the sexually explicit material to young persons on the internet and the outcome of these applications.

Last, amendment 8 changes the regulatory powers given to the Governor-in-Council, which are now limited to prescribing the suitable age verification methods that can be used to prevent young persons from accessing sexually explicit materials.

Thank you for your attention, honourable senators.