Pornography bill faces uphill legislative battle amidst Liberal majority

Sen. Julie Miville-Dechêne’s third time may not be a charm. The Quebec senator’s legislative effort to restrict young people’s access to pornographic content has run into a familiar roadblock, as the Liberal government once again appears prepared to oppose Bill S-209. S-209, which would create an offence for making pornography available to young people, mandates certain website operators to use age verification or age estimation metrics to ensure users are viewing appropriate content. The proposed legislation largely repeats a pair of bills introduced in 2020 and 2021, neither of which received Royal Assent, but both prior attempts had the advantage of facing a minority Liberal government in the House of Commons. In fact, Bill S-210, the most recent iteration, was on track to become law, despite pushback from the Liberal benches, as it cleared second reading in the House of Commons with support from the Conservatives, Bloc Québécois, NDP, and a smattering of Liberal MPs. However, S-210 died on the order paper when Justin Trudeau prorogued Parliament last year. Miville-Dechêne’s current bill faces a steeper challenge with Liberal MPs now representing a slim majority in the House of Commons following a year of byelection victories and floor-crossings. Additionally, several Grits who had supported previous versions of S-209 have since left their posts. On Thursday, MPs debated S-209 for the first time in the House of Commons, and Liberal MP Taleeb Noormohamed (Vancouver Granville, B.C.) indicated his colleagues in government were not persuaded by the tweaks offered by Miville-Dechêne, like revamping the definition of pornographic content or emphasizing that all age assurance methods must be “highly effective.” “The government supports the objectives of S-209,” said Noormohamed, who also serves as parliamentary secretary to Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon (Toronto Centre, Ont.). “Children should not be able to access content, including pornographic content, that is inappropriate for their age.” “ Parliament’s consideration of Bill S-209… and its previous iterations has consistently highlighted the real privacy concerns associated with age verification and age estimation measures, especially when children’s personal information is involved.” Miville-Dechêne’s support for age assurance has consistently sparked criticism from privacy experts and led to staunch opposition from many Liberal MPs. The Quebec senator made various changes to the bill, which she told The Wire Report were designed to directly address privacy concerns, and Privacy Commissioner Philippe Dufresne has since given S-209 a green light, but Noormohamed said two recently-tabled government bills sufficiently tackled online harms facing children. “Bill C-34, the Safe Social Media Act, Bill C-36, the Protecting Privacy and Consumer Data Act, both seek to address critical concerns thoughtfully and place them in the hands of a regulator that will be empowered to protect Canadians online,” he said. C-34 would stand up a new digital regulator to enforce Ottawa’s online harms regime and also proposes banning young people from accessing social media platforms, while C-36 dictates how private companies can use Canadians’ data. “Bill S-209, while well-intended, would leave it to cabinet regulation and an institution yet to be named to iron out all these details,” continued Noormohamed. Conservative MP Rosemarie Falk (Battlefords—Lloydminster—Meadow Lake, Sask.), the bill’s sponsor in the House of Commons, emphasized that S-209 sought to remedy a distinct problem from concerns surrounding social media platforms and artificial intelligence chatbots. “Bill S-209… creates a barrier between children and pornography that doesn’t currently exist,” said Falk. “Bill C-34 specifically applies to regulated social media services and regulated chatbot services, so user-generated content.” “I believe there is a hole in C-34 this is not covered. S-209 is a targeted piece of legislation that will close that hole.” Bloc MP Andréanne Larouche (Shefford, Que.) also spoke during the debate and said the sovereigntist party’s support for restricting young people’s access to pornographic content has “remained consistent.” “Pornographic material should be made less accessible to young people online through requiring pornography websites to verify the ages of their users,” said Larouche in French. “We know that pornography can be harmful for the development of healthy sexuality for children, and for this reason we believe this bill should be sent to committee.” Meanwhile, Liberal MP Robert Morrissey (Egmont, P.E.I.), one of 15 MPs to buck the party line and support the bill in 2023, once again spoke in favour of S-209, suggesting the initiative might still have some supporters on the government side of the aisle. “This should be one of those issues that all parliamentarians would agree that this House should take steps to prevent,” said Morrissey. The four-term MP took note of Noormohamed’s statement, adding that the government’s support of Bill S-209’s objectives means it should be sent to committee for further scrutiny and discussion. “One of the benefits of a Parliament is the diverse bases of opinion that comes to this House,” said Morrissey. “Committee is the process for all legislation to get a thorough analysis, a good review, and changes that are required from time to time can be made there.” “I will be supportive of Bill S-209… it may have the opportunity to complement government legislation.” Miville-Dechêne was not available for an interview following Thursday night’s debate. dlegree@thewirereport.ca

Pornography bill faces uphill legislative battle amidst Liberal majority

Regulatory |
By Davis Legree
|September 25, 2026

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Pornography bill faces uphill legislative battle amidst Liberal majority

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