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Words matter. What we choose to call something both shapes and is shaped by what we understand it to be. For example, should we call it euthanasia, assisted suicide, or ‘medical assistance in dying’? Should we call it reproductive care, abortion, or murder? Should we use the term prostitution or sex work? Each has different connotations and normative implications.

The importance of word choice is no less true when talking about other issues in Canada’s Criminal Code. That’s why Member of Parliament Mel Arnold introduced a private member’s bill to change the term ‘child pornography.’ Bill C-291 was introduced in the House of Commons in June 2022 and received Royal Assent on October 10, 2024. The bill amends the Criminal Code to change the term ‘child pornography’ to ‘child sexual abuse and exploitation material.’ Although a seemingly minor change, the bill was unanimously supported in both the House of Commons and the Senate.

Increasingly, pornography is considered acceptable in Canadian society. As multiple MPs and Senators pointed out in debates on the bill, the term ‘pornography’ indicates that what is being created or viewed is legal and consensual. Child pornography is neither legal nor consensual. In debate at 2^nd reading, MP Mel Arnold stated, “What the Criminal Code currently calls ’child pornography’ is more severe than mere pornography because it involves children and cannot be consensual. It is exploitive and abusive, and the Criminal Code should clearly reflect these realities.” Similarly, in a recent court case out of British Columbia, Judge Gregory Koturbash noted that “[t]he phrase ‘child pornography’ dilutes the true meaning of what these images and videos represent … These are not actors. It is not consensual. These are images and videos of child sexual abuse.”

Other countries have made a similar change, which highlights that sexual abuse and exploitation take place every time child pornography is created, whether or not it is created by electronic or mechanical means. One Bloq Quebecois MP noted in debate, “Masquerading as a libertarian utopia, child pornography is actually a system in which humans exploit other humans. We need to tackle it head on.”

While a terminology change does not substantively change or strengthen the law, we are thankful to see MPs and Senators clearly understand and describe child pornography as exploitation and abuse. Child sexual abuse and exploitation material are rightly illegal in Canada, and the terminology surrounding it should be clear and the law actively enforced.

You can read more about ARPA’s policy recommendations in our respectfully submitted policy report on pornography.