Friday August 5, 2005
Canada Passes Child Pornography Bill
OTTAWA, August 5, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – New anti-pornography legislation, Bill C-2, signed into law July 21, seeks to improve the protection of children from sexual exploitation, abuse and neglect.
Although the legislation rights some ambiguities that existed in prior child pornography legislation, it still allows a defence for “artistic merit,” if those who create such so-called art can prove the end is for a “legitimate purpose,” – as may be used in the administration of justice, for the purposes of science, medicine or education.
“Anything that leaves open the possibility that child pornography can be interpreted in any fashion as artistic, to me, is ludicrous,” deputy Conservative leader Peter MacKay said in October, when the bill was first introduced, as reported by Focus on the Family Canada.
The law also fails by neglecting to raise the age of consensual sexual intercourse from 14 to 18, as requested both by police and the provinces. The law does however criminalize the sexual exploitation of children from 14 to 18 regardless of consent.
In addition, the law: increases the maximum penalty for possessing child pornography or for instances of abuse, abandonment, or neglect, from six to 18 months; bans the advertising of child pornography; and expands the definition of child pornography to include audio material.
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