R. v. Sharpe

R. v. Sharpe involved a constitutional challenge to the “possession of child pornography” provision in 163.1(4) of the Criminal Code.

On appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada from the British Columbia Court of Appeal, Mr. Sharpe argued that the provision violated his constitutional guarantee to freedom of expression under section 2(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The majority of the Court agreed, and held that the violation was not justified as a “reasonable limit [...] in a free and democratic society,” under section 1 of the Charter. However, rather than strike down the provision, the majority “read down” the provision to de-criminalize the possession of material that did not pose a direct harm to children, including (1) written materials of visual representations created and held by the accused alone, for personal use; and (2) visual recordings created by or depicting the accused that do not depict unlawful sexual activity and are held by the accused exclusively for private use.

The Intervenor, Criminal Lawyers’ Association, was represented by Frank Addario and Michael Lacy.

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