Mr. Speaker, my question is for the hon. member who has just spoken.
Is she aware of a principle generally recognized by the courts? I believe two appeal courts in Canada have already issued a similar opinion, the Quebec Court of Appeal for one.
The principle is that of presumption of the constitutionality of a piece of legislation until a final court of appeal has reached a decision. In other words, in this case, with respect to subsections 163.1(3) and 163.1(4) of the Criminal Code, although a court of the first instance in British Columbia has declared these subsections of the Criminal Code unconstitutional, does she not believe that the presumption of constitutionality of this section can, or must, be applied until a higher court has rendered a decision. In Canada, this means first the appeal court and then the Supreme Court of Canada.
In other words, I am casting some doubt on the statement she or her Reform Party colleagues have made, that the children of British Columbia are not protected, because there is no longer any applicable legislation on child pornography, since subsections 163.1(3) and 163.1(4) of the Criminal Code have been invalidated.