TORONTO (LifeSiteNews) –– In June, Archbishop of Toronto, Francis Leo, urged all federal Canadian MPs living in his archdiocese to put their support behind a Senate bill that aims to protect children from accessing online pornography.  

In the June open letter, Leo urged “Federal Members of Parliament in the Archdiocese of Toronto” to “consider supporting” Senate Bill S-210, also known as “An Act to restrict young persons’ online access to sexually explicit material.” 

“It should be distressing and appalling to all of us considering the harmful, degrading sexually explicit online content to which all are exposed and most especially our youth,” he wrote in his letter. 

“At present and most regrettably, young people can easily access pornography on the Internet, which can lead down a dark and destructive path, spiritually damaging, normalizing sexual violence and significantly impacting their mental health and brain development,” Leo added, noting some of the many dangers of online pornography. 

Leo said that due to the vast accessibility of “pornography sites online, an affront to basic human decency and moral integrity,” those posting material “should be responsible for ensuring that explicit content cannot be accessed by minors throughout Canada.” 

“This bill will ensure providers are held accountable, using the appropriate technology to assure age verification while also protecting the privacy of users,” he continued. 

“I would ask you to consider supporting this important legislation that will provide protection for our young people and help foster a wholesome, caring, responsible, healthy and nurturing environment for them to flourish and thrive for years to come,” he added. 

Bill-210 is a non-governmental Senate law introduced by independent Senator Julie Miville-Dechêne, who was appointed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2018. It was passed by the Senate in April, and then later by the House of Commons. The bill is now before a committee for review. 

While protecting children from accessing such material is of paramount importance, some critics are worried that the bill’s language may allow it to be used against citizens for other reasons. 

Canadian law professor Dr. Michael Geist, who has been an open critic of the Trudeau government’s online censorship bills that are already law, C-18 and C-11, said Bill S-210 is an “avalanche” of bad news despite its good intentions, and could usher in censorship and other measures not limited to smut sites. 

Despite the potential problems with the bill, online pornography, especially among young people, is a huge and devastating problem that must be tackled, as LifeSiteNews’ Jonathon Van Maren has noted. 

“If we are going to halt the rise of sexual violence in our culture, we are going to have to find a way to deal with the problem of pervasive and compulsive porn consumption,” wrote Van Maren in a blog.

As for the bill, it has the support of the Conservatives, Bloc Québécois and New Democratic Party MPs, as well as some backbench Liberal MPs.