Supreme Court 4: rules against child pornography.

Ottawa--In a ruling that has been hailed across the country, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld Canada's child pornography law, while at the same time affirming that the Charter of Rights does indeed have limits to its application. The ruling affirms that the right of society to protect children outweighs the right of Canadians to possess child pornography. All nine Supreme Court judges agreed that outlawing the possession of child pornography is a "reasonable limit" on freedom of expression. Therefore, the Charter may never be used again to justify the possession of child pornography.

However, the judges (with three dissenting) did say that the law went too far in two areas. They made exceptions for personal journals and drawings, and videos and pictures made by those of consenting age (currently 14 years of age) of themselves. In both these exceptions, material must remain private, and distribution remains illegal.

Critics of the exceptions, including Focus on the Family and Ontario's Office of Victims of Crime, are warning that the "court has created big loopholes that pedophiles can take advantage of" (Toronto Star, 27 Jan. 01).

The ruling stems from the case of John Robin Sharpe of Vancouver, who had been acquitted of possession of child pornography in 1995 by a lower B.C. court which agreed with his defence of freedom of expression. With this latest ruling, Sharpe must return to trial on possession and distribution of kiddy porn.