P
Plxto
Parts of prostitution law found unconstitutional, Ontario judge rules
Because the judgment is from a provincial court, it is not binding, and the law remains in effect unless an appellate court sides with Judge McKay in the event of an appeal.
www.thestar.com
e-3132
Petition to the Government of Canada
Whereas:
- The Supreme Court of Canada (Bedford v. Canada, 2013) found laws that violated sex workers’ Section 7 rights to "security of person" to be unconstitutional;
- Bill C-36, the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act, passed in November 2014, denies sex workers of their Section 7 rights to "security of person" in a roundabout way by criminalizing the purchase of sexual services for the first time in Canadian history;
- Bill C-36 puts our most marginalized members of society at risk of being beaten, raped and killed because criminalization hinders their ability to seek assistance from law enforcement and puts barriers to accessing health, safety and other benefits available to workers;
- Bill C-36 hinders workers' rights to negotiate the terms of employment;
- Amnesty International has called for decriminalization of consensual sex work, including laws that prohibit associated activities, based on evidence that these laws make sex workers less safe and provide impunity for abusers because sex workers are often too scared of being penalized to report crime to police; and
- Amnesty International has stated that laws on sex work should focus on protecting people from exploitation and abuse, rather than trying to ban all sex work and penalize sex workers
Please visit
https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Sign/e-3132