- Obtaining sexual services for a fee carries a punishment of up to five years, and/or a fine of $1000-$4000
- Penalties are stiffer if sex is purchased in public, or near a park, school, or religious institution.
Once the bill passes into law… give it a month or less.
I expect the Toronto crown to be dropping these charges in exchange for john school and maybe some charitable donation. If the charges would not be dropped, the judges will be asked by defence to impose sentence under minimum (and likely they will do, at least some of them), which the crown would then have to appeal.
As to challenging the law with respect to not the sentence, but the finding of guilt, I believe johns have no standing* complaining about how it looks from SPs standpoint. So it may be doomed.
As to outside of Toronto, there is no saying what may happen. Very possibly people will be given criminal records.
*Section 24 of the Charter contains a test of standing, providing
that anyone “whose rights or freedoms, as guaranteed by this Charter,
have been infringed or denied” might seek an appropriate and just
remedy...