Vernon MP ‘hopeful’ about progress on federal child exploitation bill

A federal bill introduced by North Okanagan-Shuswap MP Mel Arnold is currently moving through the government.

The bill, C-291, was introduced in June 2022 and proposes to replace the term child pornography in federal law with child sexual abuse and exploitation material.

Before the bill went to the Senate in February 2023, the bill was reviewed by the House of Commons with unanimous cross-party support. It will be reviewed by the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs.

Arnold is joined on the Senate committee by fellow Conservative MP Frank Caputo (Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo constituency), whose previous experience as a former prosecutor helped guide the bill’s development.

“It troubles me that we equate pornography, which is consensual between adults, with what is clearly child abuse of the worst kind,” Caputo said. “Children cannot consent. Period. So I look forward to the swift passage of this bill in the Senate so that this outdated and inaccurate language can be corrected. Victims are counting on lawmakers to make this change. The time for inaction has come and gone; the time for action is now.”

After the bill is considered by the Senate committee (scheduled for today, Wednesday, September 18), C-291 will be reported to the Senate chamber, where it must pass the report and third reading stages. If the bill is amended at the Senate stage, it must return to the House of Commons for additional consideration of the Senate amendments.

“The House agrees that words matter, and this bill is an important step in strengthening our laws and how we as a society view and treat child sexual crimes and exploitation,” Arnold said. “I hope the Senate committee will give it strong unanimous support.”