Advocates for stronger laws around child pornography will be hosting an event today at the St. Albert Walmart.
Local organizers for the group Canada Family Action (CFA) are hosting the event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. They hope to get more signatures on a petition that is circulating across the country.
CFA president Brian Rushfeldt said the group has been trying to bring more attention to the issue for several years.
“We are trying to raise the public’s awareness on child sex images, commonly called child porn,” he said. “We are trying to make people aware of the depth and degree of what is going on and some of the long lasting impacts on the children who are subject to this abuse.”
The group’s petition calls for three changes to Canadian laws. The first is to remove the words child pornography from the code in favour of child sexual abuse images.
Rushfeldt said the group feels the current terminology doesn’t accurately capture what is actually involved.
They are also looking to change the mandatory minimum sentences around production, distribution and possession of child pornography.
Rushfeldt said judges in some case have gone very close to the minimum sentence, which he feels is completely inadequate.
“There is some atrociously weak and meaningless sentences when you consider the damage on a child’s life,” he said. “Right now the minimum sentence for possession is 14 days and for distribution and even for the pedophile that makes this stuff and distributes it is 90 days.”
Rushfeldt said they generally want to see the sentences rise, but are proposing three years for possession, seven years for distribution and 10 years for production.
The third focus of the petition drive is a call for legislation that would make it mandatory for people and Internet service providers to report if they saw child pornography on a person’s computer or on the Internet.
Rushfeldt said most people will take that action on their own, but without legal prompting not everyone will.
