Justice Minister Sean Fraser says Canadians “can’t afford” to wait any longer for new protections criminalizing the use of sexualized AI deepfakes as the Liberals brace for a potential clash with the Senate over their latest criminal justice bill.

He told reporters outside the House on Thursday that Parliament needs to urgently pass Bill C-16 before the summer recess as more Canadians are victimized by the use of sexualized AI deepfakes with their likeness.

“I believe Canadians could benefit, but given what’s playing out in our communities every single day, we can’t afford a months long delay to have these protections benefit victims,” Fraser said.

“When the police are asking for it in the news, when judges are declaring the need for relief from the bench, it’s incumbent, in my view, upon parliament to take action, and to take action today.”

While it’s illegal to share intimate images without consent, deepfakes pose a practical challenge.

A Halifax man was acquitted in March creating deepfakes of women he knew after the judge ruled the current law “does not reflect the technology that exists today.”

Meanwhile, CBC News reported last month that police in Ottawa have charged two men for allegedly using the images of dozens of Canadian women in violent and sexually explicit AI deepfakes and posting them online without consent. However, only one of them was charged with publishing intimate images without consent.

A Liberal motion passed in the House on Thursday should allow Bill C-16 to pass at third reading in the coming days. That would give the Senate roughly two weeks to pass the legislation before the start of the traditional summer recess.

As iPolitics has reported, the government has grown frustrated with the Senate’s pace in handling a landmark bail bill supported by the Liberals and Conservatives. It was introduced in the Senate in late February, but was only passed with amendments last week.

Conservative Senator Denise Batters challenged Fraser on the timeline for C-16 when he appeared for the Upper Chamber’s question period.

She said he was treating the Senate like a “rubber stamp” by asking them to review and pass a complex bill within two weeks.

BACKGROUNDER: Treated ‘like a rubber stamp’ – Conservative Senator challenges justice minister on timeline to pass latest bill

When asked by iPolitics about the criticism on Thursday, Fraser said he would considering “in good faith” any amendments from the Senate, but it was Conservative filibustering in the House that has created a time crunch for C-16 and other bills.

“It is a difficult pill to swallow, coming from somebody who belongs to the Conservative caucus, having watched their deliberate filibuster for months of the justice committee on the House side,” he said.

“When we discussed that filibuster at the time, months ago, I personally raised with colleagues on the justice committee the need to get moving, because they were in fact slowing down reforms on bail, on sentencing, on gender-based violence, on sexual exploitation. Several months down the road, we are precisely where I discussed we would be in those conversations. I wish I was wrong about that.”

Fraser was referring to Conservative protests at the House justice committee over the government’s anti-hate bill, known as C-9.

The Conservatives opposed a Bloc Quebecois amendment supported by the government that would remove the religious exemption to the hate speech law, warning the change could potentially lead to the criminalization of religious teachings.

At the time, the Liberals were in a minority government and needed the support of one other party to pass legislation at committee, and in the House of Commons.

After weeks of delays, the Liberals again teamed with the Bloc in March to pass a motion to allow the bill to complete review in committee and return to the House.

On C-16, Fraser said he wasn’t trying to limit contributions from senators, only pressing them on the urgent need for the bill.

“They deserve an opportunity to make meaningful suggestions on how the bill can be strengthened,” he said, crediting the Senate human rights committee for sitting during an off-week last month to start their study on C-9.

In addition to criminalizing distribute intimate AI deepfake photos for the first time, C-16 includes new measures to combat intimate partner violence, such as creating a new crime of coercive control and requiring the courts to automatically elevate any homicides deemed to be femicides to first-degree murders.

It aims to reinstate minimum mandatory sentences for several crimes that were struck down by the courts. This was done by creating a so-called ‘safety valve’ that allows judges to differ from the minimum mandatory sentence in narrow circumstances.

Conservatives in the House have instead called on the Liberals to use the notwithstanding clause to shield these sentences from judicial challenges.

C-16 would also require judges to consider alternative options other than staying charges when cases take longer than permitted to progress through the courts, a direct response to the 2016 Jordan ruling that set time limits for criminal cases.

Asked Thursday if he’d be open to splitting the bill to quickly pass the AI deepfake changes, Fraser said it would mean lengthy delays for other important measures such as criminalizing coercive control and restoring tougher sentences for possession of child pornography.

“I’m not entertaining splitting this bill at this point in time, because I believe the impact of that decision would be felt not by politicians on Parliament Hill, but by victims of crime in communities.”