|
||||
| Law makes reporting child porn mandatory |
| Sexuality |
|
It will soon be law in Ontario that people who fail to report someone they suspect is involved in child pornography could themselves face criminal charges. Bill 37, the Child Pornography Reporting Act received the unanimous support of MPPs when it was presented for third and final reading on December 4. It had been tabled last March as a private member’s bill by Liberal MPP Laurel Broten. The law will come into effect once Children and Youth Services has developed the new regulations that first need to be in place. These include an authority to receive reports from the public. Those convicted of failing to report their reasonable suspicions of child pornography will face a fine of as much as $50,000 or up to two years in jail, or both. The law also makes it a crime to disclose an informant’s identity or to retaliate against him or her. “Existing legislation requires certain persons, such as health care workers and teachers, to report suspicions that a child is in need of protection,” wrote London Free Press business columnist David Canton. “The new law goes a step further by making it an offence for anyone who stumbles across suspected child porn and fails to report it. Essentially, the legislation will make it a crime not to do something.” The legislation is modelled on a similar law passed last year in Manitoba. |
