Saskatchewan to take action on cyberbullying
REGINA People who have had intimate images shared without their permission will be able to sue for compensation in Saskatchewan.
The provincial government said Wednesday that it plans to change its Privacy Act so that those victims can seek redress through small claims court.
“We want to have some protection for people whose intimate images have been used for revenge porn or sexting without the consent of the person who was in those images,” said Justice Minister Don Morgan.
The government said it has proven difficult to rely on the Criminal Code to deter cyberbullying through unauthorized sharing of intimate images because the burden of proof is so high.
Morgan said the legislative changes will define what an intimate image is and include a prohibition on circulating the image without consent. The amendments will also put a reverse onus on the defendant to prove that they had consent from the person in the picture to release the images, he said.
Victims would not have to wait for charges to be laid, he said.
“It’s not a criminal proceeding, it’s a civil proceeding, so they do not have to wait for a criminal conviction,” Morgan explained.
“This is a remedy that’s made available to the victim. The Crown may well pursue a criminal charge, so you could have one, the other or both.”
The measure was in the throne speech delivered Wednesday which details the government’s plan for the new session of the legislature.
The outline includes new organ donation measures whereby all deaths or imminent deaths in hospital critical-care units are referred to an organ donation group.
The government also plans to introduce legislation so that Saskatchewan Government Insurance can offer coverage to ride-hailing companies such as Uber. Premier Brad Wall said he wants to encourage municipalities to allow ride-booking services to reduce impaired driving.
“I do think we just need more options for Saskatchewan people. Obviously almost every major North America city is comfortable with respect to the safety that’s provided by the various ride-sharing platforms,” Wall said.
Saskatchewan has one of the highest rates of impaired driving in Canada. Statistics Canada says there were 683 police-reported impaired driving cases per 100,000 population in Saskatchewan in 2011. The Canadian average was 262.