It has been suggested that we do our own research regarding bill c36 so here are some salient points to consider:
1) Prostitution has been legal in Canada for over 100 years.
2) There are plenty of laws on the books to protect minors, prevent human trafficking etc. To my knowledge the police and crown have had no particular difficulty in applying those regulations to prevent the crimes they were intended to stop. Those activities are already illegal, and arguments that police need "new and better tools" to prevent and punish those crimes is specious.
3) The anti-prostitution laws that were on the books pre 2014 were the governments attempt to do an end run around the preexisting prostitution laws (ie. if we can't stop prostitution because it is legal, we will create a series of convoluted laws to regulate activities that are associated with prostitution so that we can stamp it out indirectly). Even the Chief Justice of the SCC noted:
"We find ourselves in an anomalous, some would say bizarre, situation where almost everything related to prostitution has been regulated by the criminal law except the transaction itself. The appellants' argument
then, more precisely stated, is that in criminalizing so many activities surrounding the act itself, Parliament has made prostitution de facto illegal if not de jure illegal."
4) In 2013 the SCC struck down the existing anti-prostitution laws as unconstitutional. The basic premise was that by so tightly restricting the activities surrounding prostitution the laws were endangering the safety of sex trade workers, and thereby violating their Charter rights. The SCC gave Parliament 1 year to revise the regulations.
5) Subsequent to the SCC decision police were no longer able to apply sections 210 to 213 of the Criminal Code since they were now deemed unconstitutional. This had no effect on the regulations regarding exploitation of minors or human trafficking. The only significant result of the SCC decision was that the activities surrounding prostitution were now legal, making the activity both easier, and safer for the sex trade workers.
6) Parliament could have done nothing after the SCC decision. There were still enforceable laws to prevent exploitation of minors and human trafficking. Prostitution was still legal (which was the case since the 19th century). Consenting adults could engage in private transactions with reasonable assurance of safety. Instead, bill C-36 is the Minister of Justice's response to the 1 year delay the SCC gave to Parliament. Unfortunately C-36 is a return to the bizarre situation outlined in point 3) above. The only significant difference is that the sex trade worker cannot be charged under the provisions of C-36, only the client. This is Peter MacKay's underhanded attempt to use technicalities, and legal chicanery to address the SCC concern with Charter violations, while still trying to criminalize prostitution indirectly.
Now the real question is, did MacKay go through all this effort to create yet another end run around existing laws, just to let the new regulations just languish on the books without any attempt at enforcement? If that was his intent, he could have just ignored the whole situation, and spent the summer golfing, and fishing. Bill C-36 is yet again, an attempt by conservative politicians to stamp out prostitution in Canada. I have no doubt that police chiefs across Canada do not intend to make C-36 enforcement a priority, and when consulted by other members of TERB they are honest when they are saying that enforcement will be on a complaint basis, however police chiefs are not at the top of the food chain. A few phone calls and meetings between the right individuals could result in a shift in priorities.
Christmas will come early this year for Peter MacKay, and just like a kid with his shiny new toy on Christmas morning, I have little doubt that MacKay will want to play with his new law come December.