decriminalizing prostitution

Federal government to appeal prostitution ruling

April 26, 2012 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Health and Safety, Human Resources

On April 25, 2012, the Federal government announced that it will appeal the Ontario Court of Appeal decision that struck down Canada’s prostitution laws as unconstitutional, specifically the Criminal Code provisions prohibiting “keeping or using a common bawdy house” and the “living off the avails of prostitution” provision…

common bawdy house, constitution challenge, criminal code, decriminalizing prostitution, employment law, living off of the avails of “the prostitution of another person”, prostitution, sex trade, sex work, Supreme Court of Canada

Ontario court recognizes health and safety risks associated with sex-trade laws, and strikes them down

September 30, 2010 Adam Gorley Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, Human Resources, Human Rights

We wrote about a controversial challenge to Canada’s prostitution laws last year, and the judge hearing the case has finally released her decision—in favour of the sex-trade workers who raised the challenge. “I have found that the law as it stands, is currently contributing to the danger faced by prostitutes,” said the judge.

canadian employment law, criminal code, decriminalizing prostitution, employment law, occupational health and safety, ontario, sex trade, solicitation

Decriminalizing the oldest profession in the world

October 9, 2009 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Health and Safety, Human Resources

We were reading some very interesting articles in the media regarding the constitutional challenge to prostitution laws by sex-trade workers. These articles are saying that the law makes no sense. Alan Young, the Osgoode Hall law professor representing the women, notes that the law permits prostitution itself, but prohibits “all incidental transactions involved in prostitution”. Consequently, they want the Court to strike down all the Criminal Code sections pertaining to solicitation, to effectively decriminalize prostitution—as a result, making the sex trade a viable profession in it’s own right.

canadian employment law, criminal code, decriminalizing prostitution, employment law, employment standard, occupational health and safety, sex trade, solicitation