(Ottawa) Senator Julie Miville-Dechêne’s bill aimed at limiting young people’s access to sexually explicit material online was adopted at second reading, despite the opposition of the majority of Liberal MPs, including the entire Cabinet.
The Conservatives, the Bloc and the New Democrats unanimously supported legislative measure S-210. A handful of liberals, 14 out of a total of 158, lined up behind.
” Shame ! “, we heard shouting from the opposition benches when the Liberals’ turn of vote arrived.
The bill was adopted by 189 votes in favor and 133 against.
He will head the Standing Committee on Public and National Security, where he will be the subject of a detailed study.
The Liberals had expressed concerns about the legislative measure.
During the second reading debate in the House, Anju Dhillon stressed that the Trudeau government was working on its bill on the fight against harmful content online.
Promised for several years, such a legislative measure has never been tabled. The Liberals kept postponing the presentation.
The senator “very happy”
The opposition from the Liberals did not surprise Senator Julie Miville-Dechêne, who has been leading this fight for three years – before becoming S-210, the bill was called S-203, but it died on the order paper.
“I expected that many Liberals would not support the bill, because I never had clear support from the government,” she explained in an interview.
“Some told me that they supported the intention, and that they would include this public health problem in the famous upcoming bill on online harms,” adds the independent senator.
But the most important thing is that S-210 was adopted, and in a transpartisan manner, she argues.
“I am very happy that it passed, and I must tell you that what makes me happiest in all of this is that four parties voted for it,” says the former president of the Council on the Status of Women. .
She is delighted to note that the arguments surrounding the protection of children have prevailed over those concerning the “supposed danger to personal data for pornography enthusiasts”.
The bill aims to force platforms that distribute sexually explicit content to adopt age verification mechanisms, to prevent minors from having access to it.
Individuals and companies that make this content accessible to children may face fines.
“Videos are increasingly hardcore, to satisfy customers… adults are one thing, but children? », Launches Senator Miville-Dechêne.