In January 2001, the Supreme Court of Canada handed down its ruling on the Charter challenge brought to the "kiddie porn law" by Robin Sharpe's case. Political and legal commentator Stan Persky and former senior justice department policy advisor John Dixon follow the course of Sharpe's case through the courts from his arrest in 1995 to the verdict.

While favouring sanctions for the possession of material whose production requires crimes to be committed, Persky and Dixon remain equally concerned that child pornography law not violate constitutionally guaranteed freedoms such as thought, belief and expression — values central to democratic life.

Does the law as it now stands, with the Supreme Court's modifications, measure up? On Kiddie Porn?s clearly thought?out analysis let the reader decide.

Stan Persky is the author of more than a dozen books, including Topic Sentence, Buddy’s: A Meditation on Desire and The Short Version, which won a BC Book Prize for non–fiction in 2006. He teaches philosophy at Capilano University and lives in Berlin and Vancouver.

Brian Fawcett is a past editor of Books in Canada, a former columnist for The Globe & Mail, and a founding editor of the internationally-followed Internet news service, www.dooneyscafe.com. Born in Prince George, he has lived in Toronto since 1991.

Stan Persky's profile page

John Dixon has taught philosophy at Capilano College since earning at PhD from the University of British Columbia in 1972. He was seconded to the Department of Justice in 1991-92 as senior policy advisor to Kim Campbell, the Deputy Minister of Justice and was there at the inception of the kiddie porn law project. He is also the president of the BC Civil Liberties Association. He lives in Vancouver.

John Dixon's profile page