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Prostitution Laws

December 23, 2013 by · Comments Off on Prostitution Laws 

Prostitution Laws, The Conservative government is giving its strongest signal yet it will replace the prostitution laws struck down by the Supreme Court of Canada with new measures.

“(Justice) Minister (Peter) MacKay can count on my full support to implement an appropriate response to that decision,” Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney said Sunday on CTV.

He says he’s “disappointed” with Friday’s unanimous declaration that Canada’s bans on brothels, communicating for the purpose of prostitution and living off its profits are unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court concluded the current laws violate hookers’ right to security of the person, but Blaney says the government will find another way to help women because prostitution turns people “into real modern slaves.”

“That’s what prostitution, in many cases, is all about,” he said. “This is abusing women, turning them into, not only human trafficking (victims), but into drug (addicts), into removing sometimes their own identity and using them in a way that is despicable.”

Blaney didn’t back any specific policy, but Conservative Party members took a definite stance on the issue at their Calgary convention last month.

Prostitution Laws

December 21, 2013 by · Comments Off on Prostitution Laws 

Prostitution Laws, Canada’s highest court struck down the country’s anti-prostitution laws Friday, a victory for sex workers who had argued that a ban on brothels and other measures made their profession more dangerous. The ruling drew criticism from the conservative government and religious leaders.

The court, ruling in a case brought by three women in the sex trade, struck down all three of Canada’s prostitution-related laws: bans on keeping a brothel, making a living from prostitution, and street soliciting. The ruling won’t take effect immediately, however, because the court gave Parliament a year to respond with new legislation, and said the existing laws would remain in place until then.

The decision threw the door open for a wide and complex debate on how Canada should regulate prostitution, which isn’t in itself illegal in the country.

Robert Leckey, a law professor at McGill University, said the court found that the law did nothing to increase safety, but suggested in its ruling that more finely tailored rules might pass constitutional scrutiny in the future.

“Some of the (current) provisions actually limit sex workers’ ability to protect themselves,” Leckey said.

The court found that Canada’s prostitution laws violated the guarantee to life, liberty and security of the person. For instance, it said the law prohibiting people from making a living from prostitution is too broad.

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