EvanL
06-20-2004, 05:12 PM
Martin should have delayed election to pass bill: Harper
Conservative leader denies exploiting Holly Jones tragedy
ROBERT BENZIE AND LES WHITTINGTON
STAFF REPORTERS
The war of words over Canada's child ****ography laws escalated yesterday.
On the campaign trail, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper continued his attacks on Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin, saying he should have delayed the June 28 election to pass tougher legislation on child ****ography.
"Mr. Martin misrepresented — I'm tempted to say he lied — about his position on this. He said he had zero tolerance, he said it was his number one priority. He does not have zero tolerance," Harper, 45, told reporters in Sussex, N.B.
"The position of the Liberal party allows substantial exceptions for child ****ography and it was not his number one priority.... he didn't pass legislation on the matter."
Bill C-20, which deals with child ****ography, needed only Senate approval and royal assent when the election was called.
The bill — which could be resurrected and passed into law quickly in a new parliament — would force anyone claiming his or her ****ography had artistic merit to prove the "public good" it serves outweighs any need for censorship.
"Even this weak bill didn't become law," Harper told about 120 supporters in Maugerville, N.B. "Why? Because even this inadequate law wasn't passed because Paul Martin called the election before the bill made it through the Senate."
At a press conference in St. Jean-sur-le-Richelieu, Que., Martin, 65, defended his government's position, saying the current law is already comprehensive and the Liberals wanted to tighten it up even more.
"I cannot believe that there is anybody who would not pull out all of the stops in order to ban child ****ography," the Liberal leader said.
Martin refused to speculate on what impact the uproar over the child ****ography allegations against him might have on the neck-and-neck election race between the Liberals and Conservatives.
"I'm not in any position to judge," Martin said in subdued tones. "It's just very clear that his comments were clearly out of line."
The war of words erupted the day after the Tories distributed a press release entitled: "Paul Martin Supports Child ****ography?"
While it was hastily withdrawn, Harper refused to cede to the Liberal leader's demand for an apology.
"The substance of the attack is clearly true and that is that Mr. Martin and the Liberal Party have in fact been soft on ****," the Tory leader said.
"Mr. Martin made the situation worse (Friday) by misrepresenting his position on the issue, so we will continue to attack them for their record on child ****ography," he said.
The Prime Minister expressed dismay at the tone the campaign has taken.
"I suppose (this kind of thing is) one of the reasons why there is the cynicism out there. I think the public really does want to see a clash of ideas. I don't think the public wants to see these kinds of comments," he said.
"There is a higher standard to which we should all aspire."
In his speech to his Maugerville supporters, Harper said voters should remember Martin had voted against two opposition motions that called for raising the age of ****** consent to 16 from 14 and toughening child ****ography laws.
In April, 2002, most of the Liberal, New Democrat and Bloc Québécois MPs in the Commons voted against the non-binding Canadian Alliance motions which, with the exception of the age of consent provision, mirrored existing law.
"Paul Martin stood in his place and voted against both motions. I say to Paul Martin — you should have voted to protect our children." he said.
New laws did come into force in July, 2002, providing sentences up to 10 years for transmitting or posting child **** on the Internet, and five-year sentences for communicating over the Internet with a child for the purposes of *** acts.
Harper insisted the controversy sparked by Friday's press release has "derailed" a struggling Liberal campaign.
"While I've said I thought the headline of that release was an error and I asked for it to be changed, the much more serious error is Mr. Martin's position on child ****ography," he said.The Tories' decision to make child ****ography central in the campaign came after Michael Briere pleaded guilty Thursday to killing 10-year-old Holly Jones in May, 2003.
Briere said the murder was inspired by the child ****ography he perused on the Internet.
Harper insisted his party was not exploiting the tragedy.
"This is being politicized by Mr. Martin's untrue remarks about his incorrect position on this issue," he said.
In Thunder Bay, NDP Leader Jack Layton lashed out Harper.
"There's been no sense of apology or anything ... it shows a real failure of judgment in my view on Mr. Harper's part, and puts into question the kind of judgment he'd exercise in office."
With files from Mary Gordon, canadian press
Conservative leader denies exploiting Holly Jones tragedy
ROBERT BENZIE AND LES WHITTINGTON
STAFF REPORTERS
The war of words over Canada's child ****ography laws escalated yesterday.
On the campaign trail, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper continued his attacks on Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin, saying he should have delayed the June 28 election to pass tougher legislation on child ****ography.
"Mr. Martin misrepresented — I'm tempted to say he lied — about his position on this. He said he had zero tolerance, he said it was his number one priority. He does not have zero tolerance," Harper, 45, told reporters in Sussex, N.B.
"The position of the Liberal party allows substantial exceptions for child ****ography and it was not his number one priority.... he didn't pass legislation on the matter."
Bill C-20, which deals with child ****ography, needed only Senate approval and royal assent when the election was called.
The bill — which could be resurrected and passed into law quickly in a new parliament — would force anyone claiming his or her ****ography had artistic merit to prove the "public good" it serves outweighs any need for censorship.
"Even this weak bill didn't become law," Harper told about 120 supporters in Maugerville, N.B. "Why? Because even this inadequate law wasn't passed because Paul Martin called the election before the bill made it through the Senate."
At a press conference in St. Jean-sur-le-Richelieu, Que., Martin, 65, defended his government's position, saying the current law is already comprehensive and the Liberals wanted to tighten it up even more.
"I cannot believe that there is anybody who would not pull out all of the stops in order to ban child ****ography," the Liberal leader said.
Martin refused to speculate on what impact the uproar over the child ****ography allegations against him might have on the neck-and-neck election race between the Liberals and Conservatives.
"I'm not in any position to judge," Martin said in subdued tones. "It's just very clear that his comments were clearly out of line."
The war of words erupted the day after the Tories distributed a press release entitled: "Paul Martin Supports Child ****ography?"
While it was hastily withdrawn, Harper refused to cede to the Liberal leader's demand for an apology.
"The substance of the attack is clearly true and that is that Mr. Martin and the Liberal Party have in fact been soft on ****," the Tory leader said.
"Mr. Martin made the situation worse (Friday) by misrepresenting his position on the issue, so we will continue to attack them for their record on child ****ography," he said.
The Prime Minister expressed dismay at the tone the campaign has taken.
"I suppose (this kind of thing is) one of the reasons why there is the cynicism out there. I think the public really does want to see a clash of ideas. I don't think the public wants to see these kinds of comments," he said.
"There is a higher standard to which we should all aspire."
In his speech to his Maugerville supporters, Harper said voters should remember Martin had voted against two opposition motions that called for raising the age of ****** consent to 16 from 14 and toughening child ****ography laws.
In April, 2002, most of the Liberal, New Democrat and Bloc Québécois MPs in the Commons voted against the non-binding Canadian Alliance motions which, with the exception of the age of consent provision, mirrored existing law.
"Paul Martin stood in his place and voted against both motions. I say to Paul Martin — you should have voted to protect our children." he said.
New laws did come into force in July, 2002, providing sentences up to 10 years for transmitting or posting child **** on the Internet, and five-year sentences for communicating over the Internet with a child for the purposes of *** acts.
Harper insisted the controversy sparked by Friday's press release has "derailed" a struggling Liberal campaign.
"While I've said I thought the headline of that release was an error and I asked for it to be changed, the much more serious error is Mr. Martin's position on child ****ography," he said.The Tories' decision to make child ****ography central in the campaign came after Michael Briere pleaded guilty Thursday to killing 10-year-old Holly Jones in May, 2003.
Briere said the murder was inspired by the child ****ography he perused on the Internet.
Harper insisted his party was not exploiting the tragedy.
"This is being politicized by Mr. Martin's untrue remarks about his incorrect position on this issue," he said.
In Thunder Bay, NDP Leader Jack Layton lashed out Harper.
"There's been no sense of apology or anything ... it shows a real failure of judgment in my view on Mr. Harper's part, and puts into question the kind of judgment he'd exercise in office."
With files from Mary Gordon, canadian press