Hon. David Richards: Honourable senators, my question is for the Government Leader in the Senate.

Senator Gold, the Olympics are not only a sports venue but a political showcase. I’m wondering if we have any contingency plans if any one of our athletes is held up in any way by Chinese authorities. We have been treated dishonourably by a dishonest regime for the last three years and been lectured to by arrogant and pompous diplomats, and yet, here we are, still ready to send some of our greatest athletes into their domain.

Hon. David M. Wells: Just to make a point on your last comment, you can be both a feminist and a more conservative person.

I understand the intent of the bill, and I agree with it. This would be a law that is obviously within the jurisdiction of Canada. With the prevalence and ease of use of virtual privacy networks, or VPNs, which can mask your IP address, how would you address that with respect to visiting any sites on the internet?

Senator Miville-Dechêne: First, let me say that obviously you can be a feminist, progressive or conservative. Anybody can be a feminist. I’m sorry if I was not very clear in the way I articulated that. I just wanted to say how non-partisan this bill was and that people came from different places. There are quite a few Christians, for example, who support this bill.

Your question about the VPN is an excellent one. The studies show that among younger children — less than about 15% — 13‑year-olds have access to a VPN or know how one works. For younger children, this would not be a big problem because most of them often stumble upon porn or just don’t know how to use a VPN. It’s obviously an issue for older teenagers, but this bill doesn’t pretend to stop everybody everywhere from watching porn. It’s like when one buys cigarettes. We know a child can buy them themselves, or they can ask an older boy to go and buy cigarettes for them. It’s the same thing for alcohol. The idea is to try to restrict access to porn as much as we can.

(On motion of Senator Martin, debate adjourned.)