Beyond Borders Hits Close to Home

(Winnipeg Free Press, Saturday, March 27th, 2004)

By Erin Madden

Norman Boudreau has many attributes that make him perfect for his volunteer position with Beyond Borders -- a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring justice for children in sexual-exploitation cases. Not only is he an elementary school teacher, turned lawyer, he is also a father. "I have a daughter so all of this hits very close to home," he said of his reason for becoming involved with the non-profit organization. "It's the one cause I would always involve myself in -- the protection of children."

As a volunteer and vice-president of the organization, Boudreau has many responsibilities, including monitoring child-exploitation cases in Canada's courts.
Beyond Borders uses the information he collects to lobby the government for laws that will better protect children and deter crimes against children from taking place. The cases he monitors can include those involving child exploitation, child pornography, Internet luring, child sex-tourism, children forced into prostitution, and child trafficking. "Because of my position I have as a lawyer, I think I am able to exercise a bit more influence on the system," said Boudreau, who is a partner in the law firm of Booth Dennehy Ernst & Kelsch. "I am able to be quite effective in the organization because I know how the system works."

A year ago, Boudreau made a presentation on Bill C-20 to the justice committee in the House of Commons. The bill aims to raise the age of sexual consent from 14 to 16 -- something Beyond Borders is committed to getting accomplished.

The group is also working on getting the government to impose a law that does not allow for conditional sentences in crimes against children. "If you commit a crime against a child, a conditional sentence should not be available to you," said Boudreau, adding the government of Manitoba, and in particular Justice Minister Gord Mackintosh, has been very supportive of Beyond Borders and its mandate.

In the past year, the province has appointed a dedicated Crown attorney for all child sexual-exploitation cases -- something Boudreau said is great news as it gives the Crown a certain level of expertise and prevents cases from falling through the cracks.

Boudreau said child exploitation is more prevalent in our society than people like to believe. He said those who download child pornography off the Internet sometimes view it as a victimless crime. "People go on the Internet and download child pornography and they think it's just a picture, but in fact, it's not just a picture. There is a child being abused in making that picture."

He said there are some Web sites where people can go and pay money to assist in the rape of a child on-line. They are able to view the assault over a web-cam and have a say in what they want the person to do to the child.

"When more people download or look at child pornography, there is a demand there, and there are those who will supply the demand," he said. "People have to realize it's made for money. It's a money-making industry. If people are buying that sort of product, they will supply it."

Boudreau said in the past couple of years, Beyond Borders has been able to put the subject of child pornography and child exploitation on the forefront by working together with the media.

Beyond Borders is Canada's only affiliate with ECPAT International, which is a network of organizations and individuals working together to eliminate the commercial sexual exploitation of children.

If you would like to become a Beyond Borders volunteer, or would like more information, contact Boudreau at (204) 957-1717 or call Roz Prober at (204) 284-6862.

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