OTTAWA, Ont. — New laws being proposed to Parliament would update Canada’s criminal code to include offenses committed on the Internet, such as viewing or distributing child pornography.
Under the broad justice bill, which Justice Minister Anne McLellan submitted Wednesday, viewing a Web site that contains child pornography could bring a five-year prison sentence, with up to 10 years for transmitting, exporting or making it available on the Internet.
It also would impose a maximum five-year prison sentence for attempting to lure children on the Internet, and empower judges to order the deletion of Canadian Web sites that include child pornography.
“What we want to do is make it plain that as a society we condemn very, very strongly the misuse of technology,” McLellan said.
The proposed bill must be approved by Parliament, which is firmly controlled by McLellan’s Liberal Party. The opposition Canadian Alliance also favors tougher penalties regarding child pornography and sex with minors.
“It’s a good sign that they’re looking at modernizing the child pornography law to capture the new technologies that are being used,” said David Griffin, spokesman for the Canadian Police Association.
The new justice bill also would allow Canada to prosecute a Canadian who engages in sex with a minor in another country. Currently, such a prosecution requires charges filed by the foreign country.
