Arnold Viersen is an Alberta man (born May 3, 1986) who was elected to Canadian parliament in 2015 and again in 2019 as the Conservative representative for Peace River – Westlock.  In 2016 he called for an examination of the public health effects of online violent and sexually degrading material.  He also emphasized that a cultural shift in attitude is needed for the public to recognize that unchecked pornography puts many citizens at risk.  Viersen called for Canada to become a world leader in protecting children from sexual exploitation for the benefit of pornography.

(Pornography, incidentally, in a multi-billion dollar industry worldwide.  It has been linked to addictive patterns,  increasing erectile dysfunction among young men, earlier sexual activity, high risk sexual behaviors, unrealistic partner expectations, lower sexual satisfaction, and reduced healthy emotional attachments with family.  In pornography most verbal and physical violence is directed toward women and commonly includes a perceived sense of pleasure from inflicted pain.  Sexual behavior is portrayed as increasingly depersonalized and dehumanized. ) Source: Addressing Pornography: Harms on individuals, families and society by Janet Zacharias and Lynn Scruby in Canadian Nurse December 2019.

Arnold Viersen sounds like a good guy who is trying hard to make a difference for the lives of women and children in Canada.  We might not have heard much about him except for an innocent question that was take out of context by a female member of parliament who was arguing that “sex work”  needed to be made “safer” – i.e. for “other women” not herself.  As a Canadian citizen, I was sorely disappointed by the media who turned Arnold’s question into a gong show and by other women who rallied to criticize without reading the whole story.

I would like to quote part of the impassioned speech Arnold Viersen made on behalf of a beautiful young woman, Mary Line Levesque, who was brutally murdered by a male “customer” on parole during an encounter sanctioned by the Parole Board:

“… This is one more example of preventable violence that women and girls face across Canada by men who view them as nothing more than an object, a commodity to be bought and sold. 

“Canadians are outraged.  And they have every right to be outraged.  They want answers.  …

“In 2014, Parliament of Canada expressed grave concerns about exploitation and violence…  Through Bill C-36, the buying of sex was made illegal…  The goal of Parliament was to protect human dignity and the equality of all Canadians… 

“Sexual commodification turns the most vulnerable in our society into objects to be bought and sold…

“Men do not have a right to buy sex.  Men don’t have a right to buy women and girls for their pleasure…

“As this tragic case demonstrated, it perpetuates the idea that there should be a class of women who are available for purchase by men.

“Men who believe they have the right to objectify and harm those who are for sale.     …  …

“Last year, this [Liberal] government reduced some of the human trafficking offences to summary offences…  This government also eliminated consecutive sentences to human trafficking that were adopted under the previous government… 

“Downplaying the seriousness of sex trafficking will lead to more violence again women and increased discrimination to those most at risk in our country.  

“[It] creates two classes of people.  Those who can be commodified and sold and those who should not.  …

“People should never be for sale. 

“Women and girls in Canada deserve better.”

Thank you, Arnold, for speaking on behalf of vulnerable Canadians.