OTTAWA (LifeSiteNews) – Conservative politicians and Canadians are in an uproar after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that a mandatory one-year sentence for possessing or accessing child pornography is “unconstitutional.”
The Supreme Court released its ruling on October 31 in a 5-4 decision. The court dismissed the Crown’s appeal of the ruling n 2025 SCC 33 (File No. 40882). The ruling upholds a Quebec Court of Appeal decision, meaning that in such cases moving forward it will be up to the judge to hand over a ruling.
The case was based on a recent argument made by two men from Quebec, who had pleaded guilty to child pornography offenses. The two had argued that a one-year jail sentence was a violation of their Charter right of not being a party to “cruel and unusual treatment or punishment.”
It was the Crown that had asked the Supreme Court to rule that having child pornography is a grave offense worthy of strict sentences, noting the harm it causes the victims and families.
The Supreme Court judges in their ruling wrote that “it must be recognized that these offences can be committed in different ways, under different circumstances and by different offenders.”
The court said that child pornography offenses cover a “very wide range of circumstances” from a “well-organized offender” who has “accumulated thousands of files” all the way to a “young 18‑year‑old offender who, one day, keeps and views a file showing a 17‑year‑old victim that was sent to the offender without them having requested it.”
The dissenting judges, justices Richard Wagner, Suzanne Côté, Malcolm Rowe, and Michelle O’Bonsawin, had said the appeal should go ahead, arguing that a minimum sentence of a year in jail for child pornography has not been shown to “constitute cruel and unusual punishment.”
“The censure of society and the law must be reflected consistently and rigorously in the sentences imposed on offenders who are guilty of sexual offences against minors,” the dissenting judges wrote.
“Through the imposition of more severe sentences, the justice system expresses society’s deep and rightful indignation.”
Due to the Supreme Court ruling, one-year mandatory minimums for possession and accessing child pornography under s. 163.1(4)(a) and (4.1)(a) are struck down Canada-wide.
Judges now have discretion to impose sentences as they see fit.
The court reaffirmed mandatory minimums are not unconstitutional, but they added that a minimum sentence for those possessing child pornography who are low risk or first-time offenders may have a constitutional rights impact.
Canadian premiers and Conservative leaders blast ruling
After the Supreme Court ruling, Conservative politicians nationwide were quick to blast it and demanded that Prime Minister Mark Carney use at once the Notwithstanding Clause to overrule it.
“Child porn users must face mandatory prison time. The Supreme Court ruling today removing those penalties was dead wrong,” Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre wrote Friday on X.
“Conservatives will use the Notwithstanding Clause to protect the rights of children by locking up child porn users with mandatory prison time. We must protect our children.”
In another X post, Poilievre said that child sex abuse material is “heinous, evil, and deserves swift and harsh justice for those responsible for creating, accessing, and possessing it.”
“Conservatives will always fight for the strongest laws, using all tools available to us, to protect the most vulnerable in our society,” he wrote.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith had harsh words after the court ruling as well, noting the decision is “outrageous.”
“This decision is outrageous. The possession of child pornography is a heinous crime, and even a one-year minimum sentence is already far too lenient,” she wrote Friday on X.
“We call on the Federal Government to immediately invoke the Constitution’s notwithstanding clause to overturn this ruling and ensure the protection of our children.”
Canada’s Constitution’s notwithstanding clause allows the sitting federal government to override, and in effect nullify Supreme Court rulings for a period of time.
Conservative Shadow Minister for Justice and Attorney General of Canada Larry Brock noted that the Supreme Court ruling is a “disgusting and cruel insult to victims of these heinous crimes.”
“It is especially egregious given the two cases involved,” he wrote in a media statement posted Friday on X.
“One of the offenders had 317 images of children, with 90% being of girls between the ages of three and six. The other had 531 images and 274 videos for over a year, most of which involved children from five to ten years old,” he wrote.
“These vile predators caused unimaginable suffering and harm to hundreds of victims, some as young as three. Any normal person who reads this decision would be disgusted, and it is outrageous that child predators might walk free with less than a year in prison.”
“Conservatives will always fight for the strongest laws to protect the most vulnerable in our society. We offer our full assistance to the government in Parliament to swiftly fix this travesty.”
As of press time, Carney has not spoken about the Supreme Court ruling.
