Proposed Conservative fix for the safety of sex workers
The Conservative Party of Canada is currently working towards passing Bill C-36. This bill, which is being referred to as the “Tories’ Prostitution Act,” is focused on criminalizing the act of buying a “sexual service,” which Bill C-36 doesn’t define, leaving it to the discretion of the judge on a per-case basis.
In December 2013, after a legal battle with a group of sex worker advocates known as Bedford, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down three laws pertaining to the acts of prostitution, as they violated the Charter Rights of life, liberty, and security of a person. These acts included running or being a part of a “bawdy” house or brothel, living on the avails of prostitution, and communicating in public for the purpose of prostitution. After the laws were struck down, the Conservatives created C-36 to replace the laws and limit the sex trade as a whole.
The bill aims to create a safer environment for sex workers by criminalizing the act of buying a sexual service. It does this by making it illegal to discuss the sale of sex in certain areas, like in public or somewhere that impedes traffic. Also, the bill would make it illegal to receive “material benefit” from the sale of sexual services by anyone other than themselves, which some have argued will deter sex workers from working together, which they often do to be safer.
Looking back at the previous laws that were abolished by the Supreme Court last December, some believe that the new bill is just old law reworded and dressed up in a new package. The criminalization of receiving material benefits can be interpreted as the same as living on the avail, and the discussion with intent to sell is only different in that it changes the areas that it is allowed in. Because of this, the Bedford group has already promised a legal battle, as these acts will innately violate the same Charter Rights.
In addition to the legal issues the bill is facing, new social issues for sex workers and those around them seem to be popping up. Statistics show that there is an increase in violence towards workers when they criminalize the clients. Peter MacKay, the Minister of Justice argued in his testimony for C-36 that sex work is an innately dangerous area of work, and that this bill will protect the workers and their rights; however, others argue that it may do just the opposite.
Some also argue that the bill will perpetuate the racial issues being felt by Indigenous sex workers, who have historically faced more ridicule and been persecuted in many different forms, such as the inclusion of wigwams as “bawdy” houses, which lead to many children being taken away from their families, as they lived in wigwams and the law deemed them to be unfit homes.
The bill is set to pass, if it makes it through the process, this December, just one year after the Court struck down the other unconstitutional laws. Though the bill is supposed to be a way to keep these sex workers safe, the way in which it aims to do so could, in the opinion of some, lead to more violence and increased social issues. With the Bedford group set to challenge the Bill, it will be interesting to see how the politics of the matter play out in the coming months.