A plan to end prostitution … ‘to the extent possible’
Minister rules out banning sex trade for fear it would worsen exploitation
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 day-long 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 Sep- tember.
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.
But under the government’s proposal, it appears much will be left to the courts to decide. When department officials testified before the committee, MPs were told that judges will be left to decide whether some individual cases merit punishment for sex workers.
The prostitution bill may end up back in front of the Supreme Court, but MacKay was confident the new law won’t be struck down as the old one was. The legislation went through a thorough vetting by justice department officials and in their opinion, the new law is constitutional, he said.
The department appears to have advised MacKay that there is no breach of a sex worker’s Charter rights, which was the problem in the previous bill.
“There are those who disagree with this approach (in the bill), and so they may very well choose to challenge the law. It’s not uncommon — I’ll put it that way,” MacKay said after the meeting.
“We feel it is Charter-compliant.”
He dismissed the idea of the government itself sending the bill to the high court for a legal opinion.