I have to say, after sitting in on this seminar at Cybernet Expo, and having been in Montreal for 2 ½ days by this point, I was basically sold on the idea that living in Montreal and doing adult business there would be a spectacular idea.I have to say, after sitting in on this seminar at Cybernet Expo, and having been in Montreal for 2 ½ days by this point, I was basically sold on the idea that living in Montreal and doing adult business there would be a spectacular idea. I would later learn from some of the locals that some of the negative points about doing adult business in Canada were left out of the discussion during this seminar. I will admit that some of what was discussed did seem like nothing more than a plug for Montreal and why Canada should be considered a better place than the U.S. on many levels. Nonetheless, this seminar did shed plenty of light on some differences between U.S. and Canadian law.

Attorney Neil Oberman opened the seminar by explaining that Common Law applies to the whole country of Canada, regardless of locale or city size. In contrast, in the U.S., state law can differ greatly among states, and “community standards” can be as different as night and day (for example, community standards in cities like San Francisco vs. Salt Lake City vary greatly). Common Law is accepted and respected throughout Canada. As well, the Criminal Code in Canada is the same across the whole country. It’s because of this strong degree of uniformity of law and morals throughout Canada that makes doing adult business in Canada, and particularly in the very socially liberal city of Montreal, very favorable according to Oberman. Pornography is dealt with as a business (getting an adult merchant account is very easy in Canada as compared to the U.S.) and is not looked upon as a moral issue in Canada nearly like it is in the U.S. Child pornography and bestiality are considered illegal throughout Canada, but fisting and pissing with consenting adults isn’t.

According to Oberman, it essentially all boils down to three major reasons why someone would want to do adult business in Canada, or at the very least, run their servers out of Canada:

1. The Internet backbone in Canada is strong and very cheap to use;
2. § 2257 is not an issue in Canada; and
3. One doesn’t have to deal with U.S. legal and moral issues.

Oberman stated, “Canada is more liberal than the U.S. The government here has no place in the bedroom, and the adult industry is not on the top of the list of legal issues.” He also added, “In Quebec, punitive damages are not awarded. We have a highly honest and fair system. Our Civil law aims to replace what is ‘lost’ and not what you think you ‘lost,’ or will lose. It should also be noted that the Supreme Court in Canada has nine judges (judges and prosecutors are not elected), and at least three judges must be from Quebec to ensure capability and quorum in dealing with civil law issues (Quebec has a civil law legal system; all other provinces have a common law system).1

Attorney Danny Lighter expounded upon the concept of the Canadian Criminal Code, stating that their legal system is not “politicized or bipartisan, and that there is one federal statute for Canada.” [Editor’s Note: Both of the aforementioned are also true in the U.S.] The Canadian “community standard” is, in effect, their national standard. “Canada will continue to liberalize as time goes on,” he added. “Investigations only take place when there is an actual complaint. We tend to take a much more ‘active’ approach as opposed to a ‘proactive’ approach up here.”

There are far fewer complaints in Canada as opposed to the U.S. when it comes to questionable online material, largely due to their “Section Two” (Freedom of Expression), the general equivalent to the First Amendment, but also due to the fact that the Canadian population is much smaller than the U.S. However, when determining what is legal and what isn’t when viewing online material, film and television, everything must go through a censor film board consisting of three or four people, who offer their stamp of approval. That’s where it essentially ends. It’s unlikely that something will be prosecuted once it passes the Canadian censor board.

Both panelists agreed strongly, as do many in our industry regardless of location, that when it comes to protecting children from adult material on the Internet, policing should start at home. It should also be noted that Canada does not have an Ashcroft equivalent, who is overzealous in shutting down the adult industry.

1 The World Wide Legal Information Association

Jay “LAJ” Kopita is the Executive Editor for YNOTNews and the Communications Director for YNOTMasters and can be reached at editor@ynotnews.com and jay@ynotmasters.com.