Which political party is most likely to decriminalize prostitution?

[AnimalMagnetism]

interesting that Jack Laytons NDP lead in the voting. it was Jack that spearheaded the attack on lapdancing in Toronto when it first began. I remember being in a club when he and his task force came in to inspect the premises, talk to the dancers and inform management he intended to make illegal. shortly after that Metro licensing began harassing clubs and the by-laws set out the 12" rule, zero contact and there had to be a clear line of sight to the main stage from all seats.

NDP would probably be the last choice to help decriminalize prostitution

 

[oldjones]

Just to remind everyone: acts of prostitution are legal; effectively they are already de-criminalized. It is other 'supporting' activities and aspects of the business that are criminal, and which the appellants are seeking to de-criminalize.

Jacko's always been on the lookout for items he can attach to his doctrines and get publicity from, and lapdancinfg fitted. But I think if you check you'll find his attacks had to do with the larger issue of exploitation of women and workers, and you'd have to really dig to find him damning it as an immoral evil to be proscribed.

That of course is our whole position—as much as TERBians might have such a thing—that morals are private and you should keep yours to yourself, please and thanks. Let us do what consenting adults do, and stick to what government's supposed to do. Keep everybody safe, keep our cities healthy, keep commerce honest, keep everybody free from interference. Nothing to do with morals.

Not that Jacko, or any of us would say no to a morality-driven ally who could sing our tune on key.

 

[Phil C. McNasty]

interesting that Jack Laytons NDP lead in the voting. it was Jack that spearheaded the attack on lapdancing in Toronto when it first began. I remember being in a club when he and his task force came in to inspect the premises, talk to the dancers and inform management he intended to make illegal

Thats funny since Layton always gave me the gay vibe.

Yes I know he's married but that means very little these days

 

[james t kirk]

Thats funny since Layton always gave me the gay vibe.

Yes I know he's married but that means very little these days

It's the cock tickler moustache.

 

[Phil C. McNasty]

It's the cock tickler moustache.

Its that, plus he has tiny, weeny bit of a lisp going. Listen to him very carefully and you'll spot it

 

[userz]

The United Church is the NDP at prayer; they're the type who liken all prostitution to oppression so don't expect them to want to see all aspects of prostitution decriminalized. You'd find the most openness to the idea in the Bloc caucus since Quebecers are way more tolerant than the rest of the country when it comes to drinking, sex and recreational drug use. The Liberals under Chretien would have let the courts decide and would have been unlikely to appeal a decision that ruled the sections of the Criminal Code in question were unconstitutional. Don't know what the Liberals under Ignatieff would do.

 

[Samurai Joey]

The United Church is the NDP at prayer; they're the type who liken all prostitution to oppression so don't expect them to want to see all aspects of prostitution decriminalized. You'd find the most openness to the idea in the Bloc caucus since Quebecers are way more tolerant than the rest of the country when it comes to drinking, sex and recreational drug use. The Liberals under Chretien would have let the courts decide and would have been unlikely to appeal a decision that ruled the sections of the Criminal Code in question were unconstitutional. Don't know what the Liberals under Ignatieff would do.

When you say that Quebeckers are more tolerant about sex or drug use, this primarily applies to those who live in large municipalities such as Montreal (where the Bloc has comparatively less support or political influence) or perhaps Quebec City. A signficant source of support for the Bloc comes from rural francophone Quebec, and rural folks in general are far less likely to be tolerant of sex or recreational drug use. Therefore, I doubt that the Bloc would be too keen on supporting further decriminalization (besides, it's likely an issue that will not interest them greatly).

 

[Fallsguy]

Would Ward and June approve?

Yes, I also remember when Jack Layton was a city councillor and spearheaded the drive against lap dancing. I've never forgiven him for it.
Let's also keep in mind that the Liberals, when they were last in gov't under Paul Martin, set up a royal commission to study this very question. They were strongly in favour of updating the bawdy house laws and making prostitution essentially legal in Canada, but they were defeated before they got the chance to introduce legislation and of course the Conservatives are socially still back in the 50's and they of course had every intention, and still do, of keeping prostitution in the shadows, not to mention of course continuing the war on drugs, American style get tough on crime, etc.
So, this will probably end up in the Supreme Court. I would imagine the Liberals would watch the laws get struck down and leave it at that, and the Conservatives? Well, let's all hope and pray they don't get a majority and Harper doesn't stuff the Supreme Court with social conservatives as has happened in the States.
The best scenario will be this being struck down in the courts and no party being able to put together a coherent set of laws, or a law or laws that would survive a court challenge, just as what happened in the abortion debate in the late 80's when that law was struck down by the SC.
By the way, doesn't the stay on the Prostittution laws expire on April 29th?

 

[krazyplayer]

No it was extended to mid-June because that is the appeal date.

http://maqaal.com/news/3225.html

 

[fuji]

Conservative majority = further criminalization of prostitution.

Plainly.

 

[Samurai Joey]

Conservative majority = further criminalization of prostitution.

Plainly.

You are assuming a Conservative majority government, and assuming that Conservatives will make prostitution a priority. Neither of which is guaranteed.

 

[Flick]

Conservative majority = further criminalization of prostitution.

Plainly.

I agree, everthing is outta hand and the Canadian girls are little on the corrupt side and the gov't wants to put them back into the work force. There are a lot jobs out there available, part-time and full-time.

 

[krazyplayer]

SexWORK is part of the work force.

 

[fuji]

You are assuming a Conservative majority government, and assuming that Conservatives will make prostitution a priority. Neither of which is guaranteed.

I'm not assuming a Conservative majority. Just saying what the consequences of one would be.

If the issue does NOT come up the Conservatives *might* leave it alone. But if there's a court decision, or it comes onto the political radar for some other reason, they WILL legislate. It's a bone they can throw to their nutty religious right wing, without taking too much flack from the general population.

Then they'll be able to say something like, "well sorry we couldn't act on abortion, but hey look what we did on prostitution".

 

[Samurai Joey]

I'm not assuming a Conservative majority. Just saying what the consequences of one would be.

If the issue does NOT come up the Conservatives *might* leave it alone. But if there's a court decision, or it comes onto the political radar for some other reason, they WILL legislate. It's a bone they can throw to their nutty religious right wing, without taking too much flack from the general population.

Then they'll be able to say something like, "well sorry we couldn't act on abortion, but hey look what we did on prostitution".

Whether the Conservatives will legislate on this will largely depend on whether the Conservatives win a majority, which is far from certain at this stage, or what the size of the minority government will be. Of course, the Conservatives once back in power (since I am pretty certain we will have another Conservative minority government again) may attempt to legislate or invoke the "notwithstanding clause" depending on the court's decision. Of course, the very act of legislating may in itself provoke further lawsuits from advocates for sex workers, which could lead to further court injunctions against any new law.

 

[Phil C. McNasty]

Conservative majority = further criminalization of prostitution.

Plainly.

Perhaps not though, they might choose to defer it to the courts in order to not lose any votes

 

[Queen]

SexWORK is part of the work force.

Really? Do they collect T4 silps from their employers ?

 

[fuji]

Really? Do they collect T4 silps from their employers ?

They're technically contract workers, and as such they should be self-reporting their income to CRA. Some really do that.