MacKay prefers limits on sex trade
OTTAWA —The government has no interest in decriminalizing prostitution or making it legal, but would rather “abolish it to the extent possible,” the justice minister says.
But Peter MacKay warned on Monday that the country could be forced into decriminalization if the government’s proposed prostitution bill, known as C-36, doesn’t become law by the end of the year.
Last December, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled the country’s prostitution laws were unconstitutional because they did not protect sex workers’ charter right to “security of the person.” It gave the government one year to come up with a new law.
“If we do not respond legislatively within the year, most adult prostitution-related activities will be decriminalized,” MacKay warned the House of Commons justice committee, which is holding hearings on the government’s proposed law.
“For our government to do nothing was never an option,” he said, because the government does not accept “the proposition that prostitution is inevitable and therefore we must decriminalize and regulate.”
NDP justice critic Françoise Boivin asked MacKay why, in that case, the government didn’t simply declare prostitution illegal.
“We believe the exploitation (of women) would become, in fact, worse,” MacKay replied. “No one raises their children to be prostitutes — that’s not something people aspire to. We want to help individuals exit prostitution.”
MacKay’s defence of the Conservative government bill came during a rare summer session of the justice committee, which is holding daylong meetings this week to hear from those for and against the new bill. MacKay has said the government is willing to consider amendments, which would be debated by the Commons when MPs return from their summer break in September.
In his committee appearance, he was clear on the bill’s aims. “Bill C-36 does not seek to allow or facilitate the practice of prostitution. On the contrary, its goal is to reduce the demand for prostitution with a view to discouraging entry into it, deterring participation in it and ultimately abolishing it to the extent possible.”
Bill C-36 targets those who pay for sex with heavy fines and possible jail time. It would also put limits on what sort of advertising sex workers can use, and make it illegal for prostitutes to solicit sex in a public place where children can reasonably be expected to be present, such as at a mall or schoolyard.