OTTAWA, June 13, 2002 (LSN.ca) – Canada’s new anti-pornography law, Bill C-15A, received royal assent last week, with media pointing out that it is now “18 months after Ottawa committed to addressing the problem of predators who use the Internet to lure children.” The government contends that its “tough new legislation” will protect children “from sexual exploitation, Internet luring and child pornography,” making it illegal to use the web to lure kids into sex or pornographic exploitation and empowering courts to order Internet providers to remove child porn or links to it, and to seize materials and equipment used for child porn. New offences will come into effect within weeks, Justice Minister Martin Cauchon said, but the rest will be phased in over the next year. But Opposition MPs pointed out that the new law is open to a Charter challenge based on the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Sharpe case that some pornography has “literary and artistic merit.” Critics say the provisions do not take this potential legal loophole into account. To read Canadian Press/Sun media coverage (link usually valid only for one day) see: https://www.canoe.ca/CNEWSLaw0206/11_law-sun.html To read the Department of Justice news release see: https://canada.justice.gc.ca/en/news/nr/2002/doc_30529.html For the text of Bill C-15A see: https://www.parl.gc.ca/37/1/parlbus/chambus/house/bills/government/C-15A/C-15A_3/C-15A_cover-E.html For LifeSite coverage of the Sharpe case see: https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2002/mar/02032602.html (March 26, 2002) and https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2002/may/02050306.html (May 3, 2002)