Letter to Senator Miville-Dechene: Bill S-203

Dear Senator Miville-Dechene,

Congratulations on your success with the passage of the Bill S-203 through the readings in the Senate and onto the House of Commons. This is a great accomplishment for the benefit of the children of our country, and we are so grateful for all the hard work you and your staff have generously given to this issue.

The Sexual Exploitation in Canada Working Group is a body of The Canadian Council of Churches (CCC). Its purpose is to lead a shared church response to sexual exploitation, including pornography, as a justice and human rights issue that primarily affects women and children.

We fully support Bill S-203, an Act that will require the implementation of age verification online to protect minors from exposure to digital pornography. This bill aligns with Canada’s commitment in ratifying the Convention on the Rights of the Child in December 1991 as well as the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography from May 2000. It also aligns with the March 2, 2021 General comment No. 25 on children’s rights in relation to the digital environment, in particular Section X11.