Since I moved here only 4 years ago from MTL, maybe I can illuminate the situation for those unfamiliar with the city.
The language laws drove many head offices to Toronto in the 80's. I still find it amusing that the Bank of Montreal HQ is here. Then NAFTA and the recession hit in 90/91, killing many small businesses and bleeding the thriving textile businesses of the Chabanel district. I remember walking down Ste-Catherine street in those days (MTL equivalent of Yonge) and it being a ghost town. Empty stores everywhere.
Things improved in the mid-90's, with the dot com boom, but even in the best of environments, the city has never recovered from its past. When I graduated from the IT trade school (second career), it was an employer's market. They expected massive certifications and experience for relatively little pay. The only solution for the career-minded is to leave the province, build a proper resume, and then come back eventually. One can easily buy a new car and put a down-payment on a house (not a condo, and actual house) on a 45k salary.
For those who stay in MTL, the cycle is always the same. A start-up company comes into town, hires a bunch of people and does rather well, then a year or so later, over-extends itself and folds. People are back to working bar, stripping, bouncing, or escorting.
You people think this economy is bad? The current environment is actually on the good-side of average, by MTL standards.
As for the sex trade, the reason rates for SP's are so cheap is because outcall is the main game in town. You still have to shell out for a hotel. You will find very few incall places downtown and those rate about the same as most of TO CL ads... not good.
As for the agencies, Devilish, Girls on Fire, Exxxtase, and Eleganza are the ones I would recommend. I haven't tried Indy's Secrets, but they are basically OGFE's parent agency.