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441-00766 (Health)

Paper petition

Original language of petition: English

PETITION TO THE HOUSE OF COMMONS IN PARLIAMENT ASSEMBLED

WE, THE UNDERSIGNED RESIDENTS OF CANADA, draw the attention of the House to the following:

WHEREAS sexually explicit material — including demeaning material and material depicting sexual violence — can be easily accessed on the Internet by young persons;

Whereas a significant proportion of the sexually explicit material accessed online is made available on the Internet for commercial purposes and is not protected by any effective age-verification method;

WHEREAS the consumption of sexually explicit material by young persons is associated with a range of serious harms, including the development of pornography addiction, the reinforcement of gender stereotypes and the development of attitudes favourable to harassment and violence — including sexual harassment and sexual violence — particularly against women;

WHEREAS Parliament recognizes that the harmful effect of the increasing accessibility of sexually explicit material online for young persons is an important public health and public safety concern;

WHEREAS online age-verification technology is increasingly sophisticated and can now effectively ascertain the age of users without breaching their privacy rights;

WHEREAS anyone making sexually explicit material available on the Internet for commercial purposes has a responsibility to ensure that it is not accessed by young persons;

WHEREAS online age-verification was the primary recommendation made by stakeholders during a 2017 study by the Standing Committee on Health.

THEREFORE your petitioners call upon the House of Commons to adopt Bill S-203, Protecting Young Persons from Exposure to Pornography Act.

Response by the Minister of Canadian Heritage

Signed by (Minister or Parliamentary Secretary): Chris Bittle

The Government would like to thank the petitioners for expressing their concerns regarding the protection of young people online. This is a very important issue, and the Government is committed to making the Internet a safer and more inclusive place for Canadians.

The Government takes note of the petitioners’ concerns surrounding the volume of sexually explicit material on the Internet, and the harm it presents to young people. Many young people are utilizing these online platforms and can be particularly vulnerable to online harms such as incitements of violence, sexual harassment, physical threats online, and many more other harms. The Government is committed to addressing these concerns.

As you know, the Minister of Canadian Heritage has been mandated to work with the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada to develop and introduce legislation as soon as possible to combat serious forms of harmful online content.

From July 29 to September 25, 2021, the Government of Canada held a public consultation on a proposed legislative and regulatory framework for harmful content online. Subsequently, a report titled ‘The Government’s Proposed Approach to Address Harmful Content Online’ was released on February 3, 2022, outlining the key takeaways. The Minister also convened an Expert Advisory Group, composed of 12 experts from diverse backgrounds, which met over the course of the spring. The group’s discussions included topics raised by the petitioners, including perspectives on child protections online The work of the expert advisory group concluded on June 10, 2022, and summaries of their discussions have been posted online. https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/harmful-online-content.html

The Minister of Canadian Heritage is currently conducting roundtables on online safety to understand the perspectives of those who would be most impacted by the legislation. Over the last few months, roundtables have taken place in cities across Canada, as well as virtually. Additionally, there have been engagements with international jurisdictions to better understand their approach to online harms and the protection children and youth. The government sees this as a serious issue and will continue to explore avenues that will best support our youth.

The Government will take some time to further engage with civil society, experts, stakeholders and interested groups to develop an effective legislative and regulatory framework to confront harmful content online, especially as it pertains to young persons.

Presented to the House of Commons
Arnold Viersen (Peace River—Westlock)
October 19, 2022 (Petition No. 441-00766)
Government response tabled
December 2, 2022
Photo - Arnold Viersen
Peace River—Westlock
Conservative Caucus
Alberta

Only validated signatures are counted towards the total number of signatures.