Letter to Quebec Minister of Justice regarding child pornography prosecution against author/editor

Dear Minister,

I am writing on behalf of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) regarding your decision to prosecute author Yvan Godbout and editor Nycolas Doucet for production and distribution of child pornography. This is a terrible exercise of your quasi-judicial powers. There are self-evident constitutional bars to such censorship by Criminal Code, and this matter clearly does not meet the second branch of prosecutorial discretion: it is not in the public interest. [...]

It is our understanding that the prosecution of the author and publisher in this case stems from the description, on one page of a 270-page horror novel, of the sexual assault of a young child. [...]

This criminal prosecution is wrong-headed and we urge you to re-evaluate and revisit the decision in light of the foregoing, and otherwise withdraw the information. While sexual violence and exploitation of children is a wrong, so is government censorship. Artists always have and always will explore these subjects in their works. Prosecuting an author and editor for depicting such violence in a novel is contrary to the public interest, and sends a chill through literary and artistic communities. We petition you to reverse your decision and stop censoring literature through the Criminal Code.

source: 'Letter to Quebec Minister of Justice regarding child pornography prosecution against author/editor' by Cara Faith Zwibel (Director, Fundamental Freedoms Program); ccla.org/letter-quebec-minister-justice-regarding-child-pornography-prosecution-authoreditor/; Canadian Civil Liberties Association; 12 April 2019