North Okanagan-Shuswap MP Mel Arnold, left, Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo MP Frank Caputo (Image Credit: CPAC)

By James Peters

Criminal Code of Canada

Bill put forward by MPs Arnold, Caputo would change wording of child pornography laws

Jun 17, 2022 | 1:52 PM

OTTAWA — The opposition Conservative MPs for Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo and North Okanagan-Shuswap have teamed up in an effort to change wording in the Criminal Code of Canada surrounding child pornography.

The private member’s bill would change the name of ‘child pornography’ to ‘child sexual abuse material.’

North Okanagan-Shuswap MP Mel Arnold tabled the bill, with the assistance of Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo MP Frank Caputo, who has made cracking down on sexual abuse of children a priority since his election in 2021.

In a news release, Caputo says the term ‘pornography’ implies consent — but children who are the subject of sexually explicit or exploitative material cannot consent.

“Words matter. Pornography describes media between consenting adults. Children can never consent to sexual activity with adults. This is why any sexual depiction of a child must be called what it is: abuse,” said Caputo.

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“The term child pornography sanitizes the extreme harm caused to children,” he continued. “Child victims are forced to live with their trauma for the rest of their lives, and we must reflect the seriousness of this in the terms we use.”

“Small changes like the one proposed in this bill can make big differences in peoples lives, especially when it comes to lives of children who have been subject to abuse,” added Arnold.