Sask. justice minister introduces revenge porn law
Legislation aims to protect people who have intimate images shared without permission
The government of Saskatchewan has introduced legislation to deal with so-called revenge porn.
It's something the province promised to do last week in its throne speech.
The new bill, introduced Tuesday, allows someone who has had an intimate image circulated without permission to sue the person who distributed it.
"Social media is one of those things that's incredibly pervasive," said Don Morgan, minister of justice.
"It follows young people home, it follows them into their bedrooms late at night. This is a protection that we want to have so that they will have a disincentive for that type of conduct to continue and allow people some tools to allow the images to be taken down."
The new law would also shift the burden of proof from the victim to the person who shared the image and would allow victims to go to small claims court, which has a lower burden of proof than criminal court.
Manitoba was the first province in Canada to pass this kind of law.
The Opposition NDP in Saskatchewan says distributing intimate images without a person's permission is a problem that needs addressing, but says it would like to study the specifics of this legislation further before deciding whether to support it.