Possible early elections leave Kamloops MP concerned about fate of child pornography law – Kamloops News

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Frank Caputo, Member of Parliament for Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo

The Tournament Capital MP fears a landmark private members bill he spearheaded could be blocked just before it comes into effect, amid the possibility of a federal election looming when lawmakers return to parliament after the summer break.

The fall session of the House of Commons began Monday with Conservative opposition leader Pierre Poilievre’s intention to call a motion of no confidence as soon as possible, after NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh terminated the confidence agreement he made with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to preserve the Liberals’ minority government.

Frank Caputo, MP for Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, told Castanet that the possibility of an election raises concerns about the fate of his Bill C-291, which was passed by the House of Representatives last year to change the term “child pornography” in the Criminal Code of Canada to “material relating to the sexual abuse and exploitation of children.”

“I’m concerned about the election, frankly, before this bill passes,” Caputo said.

“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little bit concerned about that, otherwise a suspension (of parliament) would suspend that completely.”

The bill is currently in third reading in the Senate, where Caputo is scheduled to testify on Wednesday.

“It’s not fully approved yet. They’re still studying it,” he said. “I’m going to talk about why I introduced the bill and the importance of the bill.”

Once it passes third reading in the Senate, C-291 will go through the process of royal assent to become law. The bill will change the words “child pornography” to “child pornography material” wherever the term appears in the Criminal Code of Canada, and child pornography will be referred to in legal proceedings as child pornography material.

Caputo said the wording change would better reflect that the crime involves child sexual abuse because young people cannot give consent, which he said is implied by the term “pornography.”

He said he is not sure whether early elections will be called, but Caputo said the results of two midterm elections on Monday could be decisive.

Voters will go to the polls on Monday in the Elmwood-Transcona constituency in Winnipeg, which has long been held by the NDP, and in LaSalle-Emard-Verdun in Montreal, a Liberal stronghold.

Local MP to sit on federal ethics committee

This week, Caputo also begins his work for the standing committee on access to information, privacy and ethics.

“It’s probably the busiest committee, and one of the most aligned committees, so I’m very excited about it,” he said. “It’s an honor to serve on that committee.”

Caputo said that in a minority parliament, the ethical issues they study can be “extensive.”

“It will be a lot of work, but I will also continue my work on the federal prison portfolio,” he said.

“I’m working on some pretty large and unique dig expeditions, if you want to call it that, so hopefully you’ll hear more about that in the next month or two.”

Caputo will also step down from his role as the Conservatives’ interim shadow minister for public safety, which he has been filling for the past few months as she steps in for Kildonan-St. Paul MP ​​Raquel Dancho, who is returning from maternity leave.

Caputo currently has no role in the Conservative Party Shadow Cabinet, as he no longer holds the position of Shadow Deputy Minister for Justice and Attorney General, a role he held after his previous titles as Shadow Minister for Veterans Affairs and Shadow Deputy Minister for National Defence.