Regular proceedings at the Saskatchewan legislature were interrupted Thursday for an emergency debate on cyber bullying.
Premier Brad Wall called the debate to introduce a motion to support the introduction of cyber bullying laws into the criminal code.
The motion stated, “That this Assembly supports the efforts of the federal, provincial and territorial Justice Ministers to better protect children by combating cyber bullying, including but not limited to changes to the Criminal Code of Canada that would make it a specific criminal of offense to share intimate images without consent.”
The debate came in the wake of the very public suicides of Amanda Toth and Rehtaeh Parsons. “The spectrum of all of this is really, really hard to fathom,” Wall said after addressing the two tragic deaths.
The goal of the motion is to support the federal government making it illegal to spread intimate photos without the subject’s consent. Both Todd and Parsons took their own lives after being bullied and harassed because of viral photos.
NDP leader Cam Broten supported the motion and said in the house, “This is, in fact, the most important thing we need to do in protecting our children.”
However, Broten said the solution won’t be found in legislation and laws along. “The discussion needs to be much broader,” he said on the phone after Question Period.
Both leaders made emotional speeches, and the motion was passed unanimously.
