Manitoba has become the first province in Canada to enact legislation making it mandatory to report child pornography for someone who encounters it.

Anyone who suspects child pornography, including online content, books, photographs and other audio and visual material, must promptly report the information.

'Child pornography is not just dirty pictures — it's not so-called adult entertainment — it is child rape [and] molestation.'—Family Services and Housing Minister Gord Mackintosh

Failing to report child pornography is now a crime punishable by up to two years in jail or $50,000 in fines, Family Services and Housing Minister Gord Mackintosh announced Wednesday.

The legislation also amends the Child and Family Services Act to include child pornography in the existing definition of child abuse. Mackintosh said many people don't realize child pornography is a common element in all forms of sexual exploitation.

"Child pornography is not just dirty pictures — it's not so-called adult entertainment — it is child rape [and] molestation," he said. "Every time someone downloads photos or passes on child pornography, they are perpetuating sexual assault, molestation and rape. It's a crime against humanity. Child pornography is a crime scene."

To help raise awareness of the duty of Manitobans to report, a multimedia campaign reminding citizens that "child pornography doesn't report itself" and "child pornography is child abuse" is being launched.

"We are all enlisted and deputized by this law," said Mackintosh.

The legislation includes the following new measures:

• The definition of child pornography in the Child and Family Services Act mirrors the definition in the Criminal Code.
• An informant's identity will be kept confidential except as required in judicial proceedings or by consent.
• It is illegal to retaliate against an informant.
• Police will have to advise an employer when an employee having access to children in the workplace is charged with a related offence.
• Cybertip.ca will report annually to the legislature on its actions under the bill.

Child pornography can be reported online at Cybertip.ca, a 24-hour hotline operated by the Canadian Centre for Child Protection (1-866-658-9022). If any reports involve children or suspects from Manitoba, child and family services agencies in the province will investigate to ensure children are protected from further abuse.

'We are confident that this new mandatory reporting law will help reduce the growing number of child victims and the number of images being uploaded to the internet.'—Lianna McDonald, Canadian Centre for Child Protection

Data collected by Cybertip.ca reveals that more than 80 per cent of confirmed child pornography websites analyzed by the organization contain images of children younger than eight and 33 per cent of the images capture sexual assaults against the child victims.

"These statistics underscore the prevalence of the crime and the very young age of the victims being sexually harmed," said Lianna McDonald, executive director of the Canadian Centre for Child Protection.

"The first step in creating these images begins with the sexual abuse of children in homes and bedrooms within our own communities. We are confident that this new mandatory reporting law will help reduce the growing number of child victims and the number of images being uploaded to the internet."

The Manitoba government is also providing $190,000 to Cybertip.ca to help the service develop the infrastructure needed to support mandatory reporting, as well as assist with public education, said Mackintosh.

Ontario and Nova Scotia are currently working on implementing legislation similar to that in Manitoba, he added.