MLA Jennifer Johnson's Bill 205 passes second reading

EDMONTON -- Lacombe-Ponoka MLA Jennifer Johnson's Bill 205 has passed second reading.

The proposed legislation, entitled the "non-disclosure agreement act", aims to strengthen protections for victims of sexual abuse by updating various definitions and prohibiting perpetrators of sexual assault from entering into NDAs with their victims in civil settlements. Johnson discussed Bill 205 in the Alberta Legislature on Monday, Mar 23, prior to its second reading.

"At its core, Bill 205 proposes something simple, a small change but a profound impact," said Johnson. "It prohibits the use of non-disclosure agreements, NDAs, in civil settlements involving sexual misconduct and-or sexual exploitation."

Johnson would also go into detail about the specifications of the bill in regards to updating definitions included in the Protection of Sexually Exploited Children Act. This aims to expand the definition to reflect current realities, including coercion, luring, and manipulation.

"Section 9 amends the Protection of Sexually Exploited Children Act, PSECA, by finally defining sexual exploitation. Today it isn’t defined. Instead, the law tells us a child is in need of protection if they are engaging in prostitution or attempting to. That's it. That definition is not just narrow; it's outdated. It reduces exploitation to a transaction, to money, to prostitution, but we know now that exploitation is far more complex. When PSECA was first enacted, that may have reflected our understanding, but our understanding has evolved, and after consulting directly with survivors and advocates working on the front lines, we heard something very clearly," said Johnson. "Exploitation does not always look like a transaction. Sometimes it looks like grooming. An adult builds trust, offers gifts, provides attention, fills emotional gaps, and slowly, deliberately manipulates a child into sexual activity. There may be no exchange of money, but let me be clear. It is exploitation all the same. Bill 205 corrects this."

The "non-disclosure agreement act" has now been referred to Alberta's Standing Committee on Families and Communities for future deliberation.