TORONTO — Less adult movies are being approved for the Canadian viewing public by the country’s standards organizations.
According to a new Canada.com report, although the approval process differs depending on the region of the country and the respective approving body, the count to date for 2012 showed that 2,046 films have earned the classification compared to 2,731 in 2011.
These figures reflect a slight downward trend from the peak porn times in 2003 when 4,492 films were given the green light.
Apart from regional watchdog offices in Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec, the non-profit corporation — B.C. Consumer Protection — shares its ratings with Saskatchewan, and the Maritimes.
If that’s not daunting enough, distributors have to pay $2 per minute for the screenings for each movie submitted.
The reviewers check movies that violate provincial standards, that in addition to explicit sex, check for coarse language and brutal violence.
But despite the current figures hinting at a downward trend, there is a glimmer of good news. The Ontario Film Review Board noted that films it ensures are “in accordance with guidelines dealing with areas such as consent, physical abuse, coercion, humiliation, degradation, and so on” have leveled off since dropping in 2005.
And some more light at the end of the tunnel for Ontario porn fans.
Board stats also show that the trajectory of approved adult movies in that region in the past 25 years since restrictions were lifted in 1991, show that despite the 2012 dip, adult DVDs are beginning to gain again.
