Peter Royal, Q.C. appearing at the Supreme Court of Canada
Mr. Royal, Q.C. is in Ottawa today arguing an appeal from the Court of Appeal of Ontario. The case will decide the boundaries and applicability of the private use exception, often referred to as the Sharpe defence because it was read in to the Criminal Code in R. v. Sharpe, 2001 SCC 2 (https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/2001/2001scc2/2001scc2.html). This defence excludes accused people from conviction for possession of child pornography in certain limited circumstances relating to the private use of the individuals who created it. The issue before the Court is whether the Ontario Court of Appeal erred in interpreting the Sharpe defence as requiring an additional element. The Court would have imposed an additional burden on an accused raising the private use defence to show that the images in question were not created in a situation of exploitation or abuse. The Supreme Court’s decision in this case could have wide ranging effects on the freedom of expression of young people. […]