Most recent articles on prostitution related laws, opinions, comments

[krazyplayer]

Repeat of the spoc page essentially:

NOW- Reaction to Wynne finding that C36 is not "clearly unconstitutional":
https://nowtoronto.com/news/ontario-turning-its-back-on-sex-workers/#.VRx1XKuqKFM.twitter

In response to Premier Kathleen Wynne's statement today saying that Attorney General Madeleine Meilleur has not found the new sex work laws unconstitutional, NOW Magazine has joined a network urging the Ontario government not to enforce them.

Please find the statement below:

While Ontario Attorney General Madeleine Meilleur has not yet publicly released her review of Canada’s new, misguided sex work law, we understand – according to a reported statement today by Premier Kathleen Wynne – that this review has found “no clear unconstitutionality” in the so-called Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act. We disagree with this conclusion, and are profoundly disappointed that the province appears to be turning its back on sex workers and Ontarian communities, despite Premier Wynne’s own “grave concerns” with the new sex work law.

This finding flies in the face of the December 2013 ruling in R. v. Bedford, in which the Supreme Court of Canada rightly upheld the human rights of sex workers. The new law is extremely similar to the old one, which was struck down by the Court as unconstitutional, and even further criminalizes sex work in some respects. More than 190 lawyers from across Canada have gone on record expressing their concerns with the law’s constitutionality (or lack thereof). It should also be noted that the Attorney General chose not to meet with sex workers and their allies while her review was underway, preferring not to hear from those on whose backs these laws will be tested.

Canada’s current sex work law replicates – and is even worse than – the failed “Nordic” model for sex work. The model chosen targets sex workers’ clients, their means of advertising their services, and even preserves much of the unconstitutional prohibition on any communications about sexual services, including by sex workers themselves. It continues to surround sex work with a web of criminality. Sex workers have consistently articulated the many ways in which criminalizing them, their clients and their work settings does nothing to protect them, but instead undermines their ability to control their conditions of work to protect their health and safety. The law ensures that harms to sex workers will continue, and is a terrible step backwards.

Even if the Ontario Attorney General has concluded the law is “not clearly unconstitutional,” this is hardly an endorsement of the law – and certainly doesn’t remove the fact that the new provisions will contribute to the risks of harm faced by sex workers. The Government of Ontario must not enforce this misguided law. We will continue to fight for the development of laws and policies that promote health, safety and human rights for all Canadians.

Signed by NOW Magazine, Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, Butterfly (Asian and Migrant Sex Workers Support Network), COUNTERfit Women's Harm Reduction Program (South Riverdale Community Health Centre), Families of Sisters in Spirit, the Feminist Coalition in Support of Full Decriminalization and the Labour and Human Rights of Sex Workers, Maggie’s - Toronto Sex Workers' Action Project, Mark S. Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies (University of Toronto), POWER (Prostitutes of Ottawa-Gatineau Work Educate & Resist), Sex Work Advisory Network Sudbury (SWANS), South Western Ontario Sex Workers, Sex Professionals of Canada, STOP The Arrests Sault Ste Marie, STRUT, Women in Toronto Politics, and Jane Doe (Sexual Assault Activist),Terri-Jean Bedford and Nikki Thomas

 

[canada-man]

http://www.680news.com/2015/04/02/q...ork-police-human-trafficking-investigation-2/

York regional police have charged a 26-year-old man from Quebec in a human trafficking investigation.

Police began the investigation after a female victim reached out for help to get out of the sex trade.

During their probe, officers located a female victim in a hotel room in Vaughan. The female told police she was asked to provide erotic massages to clients, which were brought in by a male, who was suspected of being her pimp.

On Wednesday, police arrested the suspect without incident, after being found driving on Highway 401 near Cobourg.

Alyas Long, also known as the alias Anthony Fernandez, faces several charges, including human trafficking, four counts of sexual assault, and advertising sexual services.

Long was scheduled to appear in a Newmarket court on Thursday.

Police believe the accused may be involved with other vulnerable young women and are asking them to contact police.

Anyone with information is being asked to call police at 1-888-876-5423 (ext. 7817), or call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS.

 

[wilbur]

"Major international sporting events also heighten alarm over possible sex trafficking, with observers often predicting a massive influx of trafficked women to meet an alleged increase in demand for commercial sex."

So anybody moving into town in order to benefit from the increase in demand is automatically deemed to be trafficked. Trafficking implies a person being moved against their will. That implies coercion. That implies violence. Ergo, all visiting sex workers are victims.

It's hard to imagine how they could keep this huge number (well, it is apparently a huge problem) of coerced women from just walking out and seeking help from the police. It's also hard to explain how the men paying for these services would actually enjoy having sex with a frightened and battered woman, not to mention reporting kidnapping events...... oh wait! all men are violent (feminist dogma). It all fits together.

Conflation par excellence. This is the radical feminist narrative, as adopted by mainstream media.

 

[GPIDEAL]

"Major international sporting events also heighten alarm over possible sex trafficking, with observers often predicting a massive influx of trafficked women to meet an alleged increase in demand for commercial sex."

So anybody moving into town in order to benefit from the increase in demand is automatically deemed to be trafficked. Trafficking implies a person being moved against their will. That implies coercion. That implies violence. Ergo, all visiting sex workers are victims.

It's hard to imagine how they could keep this huge number (well, it is apparently a huge problem) of coerced women from just walking out and seeking help from the police. It's also hard to explain how the men paying for these services would actually enjoy having sex with a frightened and battered woman, not to mention reporting kidnapping events...... oh wait! all men are violent (feminist dogma). It all fits together.

Conflation par excellence. This is the radical feminist narrative, as adopted by mainstream media.

Well said Wilbur. Well said.

 

[canada-man]

i don't trust anti-porn people

 

[camnyc]

After reading all these long replies and postings....I got confused.....as a layman term....if you go in a hotel where an escort is hosting and for any reason cops show up....would you get charged and your name and pic would be in News???I'm worried

 

[jcpro]

"Major international sporting events also heighten alarm over possible sex trafficking, with observers often predicting a massive influx of trafficked women to meet an alleged increase in demand for commercial sex."

So anybody moving into town in order to benefit from the increase in demand is automatically deemed to be trafficked. Trafficking implies a person being moved against their will. That implies coercion. That implies violence. Ergo, all visiting sex workers are victims.

It's hard to imagine how they could keep this huge number (well, it is apparently a huge problem) of coerced women from just walking out and seeking help from the police. It's also hard to explain how the men paying for these services would actually enjoy having sex with a frightened and battered woman, not to mention reporting kidnapping events...... oh wait! all men are violent (feminist dogma). It all fits together.

Conflation par excellence. This is the radical feminist narrative, as adopted by mainstream media.

This is a very smart strategy. Whether the providers are coerced or not is not even the point. The charges can be dropped later, but the C36 charge against the johns will stick and will be seen as compromise. This also has an enormous deterrent value as well as public's support. I can see a pattern of an intelligent and coordinated strategy. My original hunch to forget agencies was correct.

 

[Asclepius]

After reading all these long replies and postings....I got confused.....as a layman term....if you go in a hotel where an escort is hosting and for any reason cops show up....would you get charged and your name and pic would be in News???I'm worried

Technically you could be charged, but probably wouldn't be, simply because the cops aren't likely to show up unless they're looking for drugs or suspect that the SP is underage. Unfortunately the cops get to decide. It's like Marshall Law where the police have all the power, but “let” you walk by without arresting you.

On a related note, outside the new draconian law, an SP I know was on a road trip out west, when an undercover cop phoned, pretended to be a customer and when she let him into her room, busted her for not having a municipal license. She got stuck with a $1000 fine and didn't dare go back to Medicine Hat to fight the charge, paying it, simply to avoid an Alberta wide arrest warrant.

Unfortunately it's a shell game where everyone has to pretend that sex isn't the reason for the visit. Wink wink, “Yes officer, I just left some money to help pay my share of the mini-bar bill. Those damn mini-bar prices are ridiculous.”

 

[GPIDEAL]

i don't trust anti-porn people

They can be worse than the anti-prostitution people.

 

[SexyFriendsTO]

Yellow Pages Shuts Out Escorts; Massage, Adult Entertainment Will Be Next

Thursday, April 2, 2015

http://www.nakedtruth.ca/2015/04/yellow-pages-shuts-out-escorts-massage.html

From Triple X:

As of March 31, Yellow Pages will no longer provide on-line advertising under the heading "escort services."

In a registered letter sent to customers last week, Yellow Pages stated the company will also stop providing print advertising for escort services as of May 1.

The reason for the immediate cancellation of escort advertising contracts is Canada's new anti-prostitution laws enacted in Dec. 2014. According to Yellow Pages, Article 286.4 "makes knowingly advertising an offer to provide sexual services an indictable offence punishable by imprisonment."

In addition, "Yellow Pages will evaluate all businesses under non-registered Massage, Adult Entertainment and similar headings on a case-by-case basis, and remove those that do not comply with the legislation."

This decision by Yellow Pages affects scores of triple-x businesses throughout B.C., who rely on business directories to attract good clientele.

"This is counter-productive," says Andrew Sorfleet, president of Triple-X. "Yellow Pages businesses are some of the safest places to work. These businesses do everything by the book. They pay their taxes, they are insured, they have city business licences and security systems.

"No where do these ads say that these businesses are selling sex. This is a very narrow and inaccurate interpretation of the law."

If Yellow Pages want to be all paranoid let them be. When guys look for escorts they don't go to Yellow Pages anymore. We haven't advertised there for years, no point because nobody really goes there. Last time we put an ad in the newspaper Now Toronto we had a guy calling from homeless shelter and another guy from mental institution. Thanks God we always look up the numbers. This is no 90's anymore, people use internet. Only those who can't afford internet use news papers and yellow pages but if somebody can't afford an internet and a phone or a computer you don't want them as clients anyways.

Thanks

Sexy Friends Toronto

 

[canada-man]

They can be worse than the anti-prostitution people.

anti-porn and anti-sex-work are strains of the same anti-sex pathology.

 

[Ziv007]

What realistically is the chance they arrest one of us for bringing a gal to our hotel room? Or are the police mostly focused on stopping human traffickers and drugs? How much should we worry about calling girls from our regular cell phone numbers?

 

[canada-man]

the police are only going after pimps and traffickers

 

[wilbur]

An example of sex-workers having to go underground because of the new law and then being exploited by criminals because the criminals didn't think that the sex-workers would complain to the police. But I bet the underground parlour will be shut down nevertheless and the owner probably charged with living off the avails.

If this is the case, then it is ironic that criminals and police are working hand-in-hand to eradicate prostitution.

46 charges laid in massage parlour robbery

BY NEWS STAFF
POSTED APR 25, 2015 9:14 AM EDT

http://www.citynews.ca/2015/04/25/46-charges-laid-in-massage-parlour-robbery/

Four teenagers, ranging in age from 15 to 18, are facing a total of 46 charges in connection with a home invasion robbery investigation in Scarborough.

Police are searching for a male, 15, who is the fifth suspect.

Toronto police allege that in March five male suspects attended two apartments that were operating as massage parlours in a complex near Victoria Park Avenue and Finch Avenue East.

In order to get into the units the suspects allegedly posed as customers.

They then robbed four victims of cash and personal property. The suspects displayed a handgun and knife, police say.

On Thursday three people, whose names cannot be released under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, were arrested and charged with multiple offences including armed robbery, forcible confinement, possession of a weapon, and breach of peace bond.

As well Navid Azimi, 18, was arrested and charged with multiple counts of armed robbery, forcible confinement, possession of a weapon and possession for the purpose marihuana.

A warrant has been issued for the outstanding suspect on counts of armed robbery, forcible confinement and possession of a weapon.

Police also seized thousands of counterfeit DVD movies and copying equipment.

 

[escapefromstress]

Barely Illegal: New prostitution laws may drive sex work underground — but can it stop it?

Richard Warnica | May 7, 2015 2:24 PM ET

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/ba...can-it-stop-it

Barely illegal: Canada’s vice laws have undergone radical change in the last few years — but it hasn’t necessarily affected how Canadians, and the police, behave. In a two-part package, National Post looks at enforcement (or the lack thereof) around marijuana and prostitution and what it means for the future.

“Raven” sells herself online as “classy, genuine and discreet.” She takes “donations” for her time: $160 for 30 minutes or $220 for a full hour. She can be a “sweet innocent girl,” she wrote in a recent posting, “or the one to fulfill all your fantasies.” But if you don’t like tattoos, she added, she’s not the one for you.

Raven, a name she uses professionally, started selling sex in Winnipeg about a year ago. “It’s something I enjoy,” she says. She isn’t trafficked. She wasn’t forced into it. She likes the people she meets. “There’s nothing wrong with it,” she says. “I’m not hurting anybody.”

In the last several months, though, Raven, 33, has noticed small changes cropping up in her industry. Clients are becoming more cautious, she believes, and advertising more discreet. Online posts — once quite explicit — are slipping into euphemism. “Everything has a to be a lot more quiet now and underground,” she says. “People are worried about being busted.”

Four months after the federal government brought into force new laws aimed at ending prostitution in this country, the vast grey market for sexual services in Canada remains, unsurprisingly, intact. From Halifax to Victoria and everywhere in between, sex is still being bought and sold in Canada, according to sex workers, police departments, researchers, and common sense.

But that doesn’t mean the industry itself hasn’t shifted in response to the laws. More importantly, it doesn’t mean the problems that prompted the legal change in the first place have gone away.

In interviews with the National Post, sex workers in five cities across Canada, all contacted through a popular sexual services website and identified here by their work names, said uncertainty over the new regulations has pushed some clients away and made business harder for them in other ways.

“What’s changed is that we’re not getting new customers,” says “Nicole,” 39, who sells sex from her apartment in Toronto. “I used to make quite a bit of money, less now because I think a lot of clients are afraid to call us.”

The new legislation, the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act, or just Bill C-36, was the Conservative government’s response to Supreme Court’s ruling in the “Bedford” case.

In that landmark decision, brought down in 2013, Canada’s highest court tossed out several criminal code provisions related to the sale of sex on the grounds they violated sex workers rights to security under the Charter. The court suspended that ruling for 12 months, however, giving the federal government time to craft a new set of, in some ways, even more restrictive laws around sex work.

Bill C-36, for the first time in Canada, explicitly outlawed the buying, but not the selling of sex. It also gave police new powers to prosecute those who advertise sex work and those who exploit or otherwise make money off sex workers in all but a few limited cases.

The explicit goal of the legislation, outlined in a justice department position paper, was to reduce the demand for prostitution by “discouraging entry into it, deterring participation in it and ultimately abolishing it to the greatest extent possible.” On one, limited, level, that strategy appears to be working. “I think it’s changed for the guys since the law’s changed,” says “Stacy,” who works in a massage parlour in Edmonton. “There’s one guy I know, he’ll only see a girl he’s seen before, whereas before he’d go on Back Page [the Kijiji of escort ads] and go and see whoever.”

But if, in the short term, some sex buyers are shying away under the new regime, Chris Atchison, a research associate at the University of Victoria, doesn’t expect it to last. Atchison, who has spent almost 20 years studying men who buy sex, says what we’re seeing now is basically what happens anytime there’s any change to the laws around sex work.

“Really what we see is initially a lot of fear,” he says. Clients become more cautious as they try to gauge the police reaction and the new risks. But the market doesn’t go away in the long run.

“I’ve seen it in these various [online] forums,” he says. People say they’re retiring from “the hobby,” as they call it, or taking a break. “But I don’t think these people ever quit,” Atchison says. “They’ll walk away long enough to figure out: ‘How can I do this safely?'” But eventually, most, if not all of them, will be back.

For Atchison, the worry is that, as the industry recalibrates, it will reform in ways that are less open and thus less safe for sex workers and clients alike. One key risk, he believes, is that, by criminalizing the purchase of sex, the government has created a powerful disincentive for Johns to come forward if they see someone being abused or forced into the trade.

It’s not an abstract fear. The Toronto Police Service is currently in the midst of a large-scale crackdown on human trafficking. In two recent high profile busts, investigators were tipped off by Johns, says Detective Sgt. Nunzio Tramontozzi, the head of the department’s human trafficking division.

“A lot of these girls, what happens is the guys will say that they’re 19 or 20 or 21,” Tramontozzi says. “But when [the Johns] get to them in the hotel room, they can actually see that they’re a lot younger. They’re way too young. And they’ll say, listen, I’m leaving, but I’m going to the police.”

But when [the Johns] get to them in the hotel room, they can actually see that they’re a lot younger. They’re way too young. And they’ll say, listen, I’m leaving, but I’m going to the police Atchinson says that, under the new laws, that may be less likely to happen. In one recent survey, he asked Johns if they’d report abuse if they saw it. Many would, he said. But among those who wouldn’t, the number one reason they gave was fear of arrest or exposure.

Not every sex worker who spoke to the Post has seen their business change since the new laws came in. One woman, a grandmother who operates professionally under the name “Submissive Rose” — mostly out of Mississauga hotel rooms — says she and her clients are too discreet to attract much notice.

“I’m a bit of an anomaly, because I’m older,” she says. “I came into this recently with my eyes wide open.”


Tyler Anderson/National PostEmily Symons, representing a group called Power, leave Osgoode Hall in Toronto, Ontario, Thursday, June 16, 2011.
What seems to exist more than anything among the women interviewed for this story is uncertainty over what exactly the new laws mean and how police plan to enforce them. But police departments contacted across the country indicate little or no change – so far.

In Winnipeg, the police department had already shifted its enforcement focus toward the “wellbeing of women in the sex trade,” in 2013, Sgt. Cam Mackid said in an email. That hasn’t changed under the new regime. The department will still only charge sex trade workers “as a last resort,” Mackid wrote. Instead, investigators focus on anyone “exploiting women:” from traffickers to pimps and Johns.

It’s a similar story in Toronto, where the department had already beefed up the number of officers in the human trafficking division last year. Nunzio says investigators have charged individual pimps under the new advertising laws, but otherwise, so far, not much has changed. They are in talks with the Crown about going after websites and newspapers that host sex ads, but “there’s no plan in place as of yet” to lay charges, Nunzio says.

In Edmonton, investigators have employed the new advertising laws, but otherwise haven’t altered their sex work strategy, says department spokesman Scott Pattison.

In Victoria, too, the “new laws have not changed how we deal with street workers in our jurisdiction,” says Const. Mike Russell. “Our approach is one of working collaboratively with outreach agencies and the workers themselves to ensure their safety.”

That attitude reflects a sea change in policing in some Canadian cities that predates the Bill C-36 era, says Cecilia Benoit, a professor of Sociology at the University of Victoria and one of the lead researchers behind Understanding Sex Work, perhaps the most comprehensive academic study on the topic ever undertaken in Canada. Benoit worries that, with the new laws, some of that progress — the bridge-building between sex workers and police — might be lost.

Even if it remains static, though, if things stay largely the same under the new laws as they were under the old, there are risks. The Bedford decision did not emerge from a vacuum. The challenge to Canada’s old prostitution laws came for several reasons, but the most important one was this: sex trade workers in Canada have, for decades, been subject to horrific levels of violence.

In one study Benoit conducted, 24% of sex trade workers indicated they had been attacked on the job; 19% said someone had forced or attempted to force them into sex. Robert Pickton, the most prolific serial killer in Canadian history, murdered sex trade workers with impunity for years in B.C. before the police deigned to take notice.

And while many advocates believe policing of the sex trade has improved dramatically in the years since Pickton operated, sex trade workers are still vulnerable in Canada. Cindy Gladue, an Edmonton escort, bled to death from a vaginal wound after sex with a client in 2011. (The client, Bradley Barton, was acquitted of first-degree murder; the Crown has appealed.) Warren Mann, a client, beat Gail Brown, an escort in Ontario, nearly to death in 2012. He was convicted of attempted murder in her case last week.

Rates of workplace violence for sex work are actually lower than they are for several other professions, including emergency room nursing, as Benoit writes in a recent analysis published by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research on Thursday.

What is clear, though, according to the women who spoke for this article and to organizations that work with sex workers in Canada, is that the new laws, despite their focus on buyers not sellers, aren’t making things any safer.

“Sex workers are still being quite endangered,” says Brenda Belak, the sex work campaign lawyer at the Pivot Legal Society in Vancouver. “They’re still feeling that they have to do things in a covert manner to avoid police contact because their clients want to avoid police contact.”

“You can’t be as open and upfront as before,” agrees Raven. “This new law,” adds Nicole, “sucks.”

 

[escapefromstress]

Massage parlour, body rub investigation leads to 11 deportations

Ottawa police say 11 women will be deported after a human trafficking investigation into commercial massage parlours and body rub facilities. Police say they investigated 20 locations from April 27 to 29 resulting in 11 bylaw charges for improper licensing.

Canada Border Services Agency also detained 11 women for immigration-related matters who appeared for admissibility and detention hearings last week. Removal orders were then issued for each woman. All 11 were found to be working without a valid work permit, police said.

No criminal charges were laid but police said the border services investigation continues, which could spark more charges. Ottawa police also said additional investigations were launched after the three-day bust.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa...ions-1.3067083

 

[Lyra Hamilton]

It all comes down to a woman having a good head on her shoulders and knowing her worth --- Harsh, inconvenient (whatever you want to call it) Prostitution Laws wouldn't exist if a woman doesn't accept it/them. It's like ideas; you can talk and search up ideas all you want, but production is a whole different game and so is commitment...

lyrahamilton.com

 

[escapefromstress]

Sydney man facing prostitution related offences under new law

SYDNEY — A 32-year-old Sydney man has the dubious distinction of being the first on the island to face charges under new laws titled Prostitution of Communities and Exploited Persons Act.

Curtis Matthew Rose, 32, of Ferry Street, is charged with three offences under the new act.

He is charged with communicating with individuals directly and through websites for the purpose of obtaining the sex services of a Sydney man. The maximum penalty under the section is five years in prison or a $2,000 on a first conviction.

Rose is also charged with receiving a material benefit, money, by providing the male for sexual services. The maximum penalty for the charge is 10 years in jail.

The third count alleges Rose procured the sexual services of the Sydney man by exploiting him with threats of making false allegations to children's aid. The complainant is believed to be a father of two children. The maximum penalty on that count is 14 years.

The offences are alleged to have occurred between November 2014 and March of this year in Sydney.

Rose has been released on conditions that include having no contact with the complainant and he is not allowed to possess any weapons.

He is now scheduled to enter pleas to the charges July 20.

A spokesperson for Cape Breton Regional Police said Friday the charges are the result of an ongoing and extensive investigation to recent prostitution activity in downtown Sydney.

The new federal laws flow from a Supreme Court of Canada decision that struck down the nation's former laws on prostitution.

For the first time in Canadian law, it is now a crime to purchase sexual services in hopeful bid to reduce demand for such services.

http://www.capebretonpost.com/News/...-man-in-connection-to-prostitution-activity/1

 

[Fallsguy]

Justice Minister Peter MacKay prepares to end political career after leaving sex workers in the lurch

by Charlie Smith on May 29th, 2015 at 8:54 AM

http://www.straight.com/news/460951...nd-political-career-after-leaving-sex-workers

Ottawa is buzzing with the news that Justice Minister Peter MacKay will announce that he won't seek reelection later this year.

Canadians can expect MacKay to be bathed in tributes from his colleagues on both sides of Parliament. The national media will play up his accomplishments while overlooking some of his shortcomings. That's the way things work in this country when you leave political office after 18 years in the national capital.

I'm hoping that among all the hoopla, some national journalists remember the dreadful impact that MacKay has had on thousands of sex workers across the country.

After the Supreme Court of Canada delivered a landmark ruling that three prostitution laws infringed on their right to life, liberty and security of the person and freedom of expression, MacKay introduced Bill C-36. It made life significantly more dangerous for those in the sex trade.

The Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act criminalized the sale of sex, pushing this business deeper into the shadows. It also made it illegal for sex workers to hire security staff because nobody is permitted to benefit from the sale of sexual services.

The legislation didn't even define what constitutes a sexual service.

In addition, Bill C-36 infringed on sex workers' constitutional right to free expression. MacKay and his Conservative cronies actually increased the legal risk of sex workers marketing services in ways that would enable them to screen clients for safety.

“Everything he [MacKay] has said has convinced me that this can’t stand up to constitutional muster,” SFU criminologist and prostitution researcher John Lowman told the Straight last year.

Cynics have referred to Bill C-36 as the Willie Pickton law because of its potential to make things easier for sexual predators to stalk and kill sex workers.

It was odd that MacKay, a former Progressive Conservative leader, was the the frontman for this hideous legislation. In previous years, he came across as more reasonable than the former Reform MPs in his caucus—even as he bungled the F-35 fighter-jet file as the defence minister.

But with this prohibitionist prostitution law, MacKay demonstrated an appalling disregard for sex workers' labour rights, not to mention their personal safety.

It's a sad legacy to leave the country.

I'm glad the Son-of-a-Bitch is leaving. I just wish he'd have hung around to get his ass kicked in October, but I guess he saw the writing on the wall for him and his wretched gov't. I'll never forgive him, or his party, or his gov't for passing C-36. Never, ever, never, never, never. I take comfort in the fact that this bunch will be gone in October and we will be vindicated. An NDP gov't will scrap this law.

 

[rysard]

I'm glad the Son-of-a-Bitch is leaving. I just wish he'd have hung around to get his ass kicked in October, but I guess he saw the writing on the wall for him and his wretched gov't. I'll never forgive him, or his party, or his gov't for passing C-36. Never, ever, never, never, never. I take comfort in the fact that this bunch will be gone in October and we will be vindicated. An NDP gov't will scrap this law.

ANY reasonable gov't would scrap C36
+1 on the rest