Sex worker advocates cheer dismissal of prostitution laws in Ontario

The laws that make prostitution illegal in Canada have been struck down by an Ontario court – and now experts suggest the door has been opened to licensing sex-trade workers.

Sex-trade workers and their advocates are overjoyed,  but the federal government isn’t giving up just yet.

Laws against keeping a common bawdy house, communicating for the purposes of prostitution and living on the avails of the trade “are not in accord with the principles of fundamental justice,” the Ontario Superior Court ruled.

They put sex-trade workers in danger, the court said.

“You can’t imagine how happy I am today because I’ve been abused by the justice system for a very, very, very long time,” dominatrix Terri-Jean Bedford said at a news conference while clasping her leather riding crop.

“This is poetic justice.”

Prostitution was not illegal in Canada, but the court struck down three provisions that criminalized most aspects of prostitution.

“These laws, individually and together, force prostitutes to choose between their liberty interest and their right to security of the person as protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms,” Justice Susan Himel wrote her in decision.

A Halifax advocacy group for sex trade workers is cheering the court ruling. Stepping Stone director Rene Ross says the laws make it impossible for workers to protect themselves and her organization has been advocating their removal for years.

“Based on our experience and on sound research and evidence, the bawdy house laws are driving women out onto the street,” she said. “And for women who are working out on the street, these laws are impeding crimes that are being reported to the police.”

Ross says the existing laws put sex trade workers at risk not only from “clients,” but from law enforcement agencies as well.

“We have heard of incidents where sex workers will call law enforcement on a prostitution-related offence, i.e. if they get attacked by john, only for them to be arrested themselves,” she said. “So yes, we have seen time and time again that these laws are negatively impacting the health and safety – and, to put it even a step further, the laws have created a de facto death sentence for sex workers in this country.”

If the court ruling stands, it means sex-trade workers could pay income tax and call police for help – and experts suggest it could even lead to prostitution being a licensed trade.

The judgment is subject to a 30-day stay during which the law remains in place, and Bedford’s lawyer said the federal government can seek an extension of that stay period.

The court’s decision was a blow to the law-and-order Conservatives in Ottawa, who immediately signalled they are “seriously considering” an appeal.

“We will fight to ensure that the criminal law continues to address the significant harms that flow from prostitution to both communities and the prostitutes themselves, along with other vulnerable persons,” Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said in a statement.

The ruling means the laws in question can no longer be enforced in Ontario and if the decision is upheld on appeal, it would topple the use of prostitution provisions across the country.

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