Sex Workers in Canada

Canadian Justice Minister Rob Nicholson has flatly rejected calls to decriminalize prostitution and dismissed as a non-starter a Vancouver group's hopes of opening a "co-op" brothel in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics to provide a safer working environment for sex-trade workers.

We are not in the business of legalizing brothels, and we have no intention of changing any of the laws relating to prostitution in this country, Nicholson told the Commons status of women committee.

Nicholson was responding directly for the first time to a majority recommendation from the committee that federal prostitution laws be amended to stop charging prostitutes and start prosecuting only those procuring sex, or exploiting the prostitutes, such as pimps and bawdy house owners.

The recommendation, which won the backing of Conservative, Liberal and NDP MPs, was among more than two dozen the committee made last year after a lengthy study to crack down on trafficking in human beings in Canada for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

We have laws with respect to street soliciting or soliciting in public places that criminalizes completely the activity - the individual that is trying to purchase that service and the individual that is offering it. And (those) will continue to be the laws of this country, Nicholson testified.

Liberal MP Maria Minna said later she was disappointed by Nicholson's response: He doesn't get it, the Toronto MP said: The men don't get charged. Who gets the record and gets thrown in the clink, it's the woman. She's the victim.

The British Caledonia Coalition of Experiential Communities, which includes male, female and transgendered sex-trade workers, has said it wanted federal support to open a co-op brothel. Spokeswoman Susan Davis said the group was looking for an exemption along the lines given for the Insite safe-injection site in Vancouver.

A group of Vancouver sex-trade workers has incorporated the country's first sex industry co-operative with the goal of setting up a legal brothel.

The official documents incorporating the West Coast Cooperative of Sex Industry Professionals arrived in the mail this week. So far, the co-op has 13 directors, including prostitutes, porn stars and exotic dancers.

Susan Davis said: We're just looking for an opportunity to demonstrate what we believe will be the impact on the health and safety of the entire community by bringing it indoors.

Ultimately, the co-op would be like a safe place for prostitutes to conduct business, as well as a place to offer education and skills training to sex-industry workers.

The group will be lobbying the federal government for an exemption to federal laws against prostitution in order to open the brothel, preferably near the Port of Vancouver. Co-op directors are in the process of drafting a proposal for the federal government that would exempt the co-op from the Criminal Code prohibition on prostitution.

Davis admits the group has an uphill battle convincing the federal Conservative government to approve a brothel but she is confident. Davis believes there is support for the project, even within the political community. Ideally, the brothel would be in place by the 2010 Olympic Games, she said.

See full article from Focus on the Family

The federal government has effectively dashed the hopes of some MPs that it will decriminalize prostitution and allow Vancouver “sex-trade workers” to open a brothel to coincide with the 2010 Winter Olympics, the Ottawa Citizen reported.

We are not in the business of legalizing brothels, and we have no intention of changing any of the laws relating to prostitution in this country, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson told the Commons status of women committee.

A majority on the committee had urged the government to amend the Criminal Code so that only those who exploit or buy sex from prostitutes would face prosecution. But Nicholson refused.

Vancouver won't experience an explosion of prostitution or human trafficking during the 2010 Winter Olympics, says a study released Thursday.

Human Trafficking, Sex Work Safety and the 2010 Games by Frontline Consulting for the Sex Industry Worker Safety Action Group said academic studies and media reports linking mega-events with increases in prostitution and sexual exploitation were based on unsubstantiated assumptions.

Neither the 2004 Athens Olympics nor the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany experienced any increase that could be attributed to their hallmark event.

The anticipated 40,000 cases of human trafficking for sexual exploitation failed to materialize at Germany 2006. The study said traffickers may not have been motivated to invest in a short, one-time event. Women and families were among the international soccer fans, while males who attended did not have time, money or the inclination to visit prostitutes.

The report estimated up to 800 people are annually trafficked into Canada for sexual exploitation, but only five domestic trafficking convictions have ever happened in Canada.

It also noted that Vancouver does have a long history of street prostitution, despite laws that make it illegal to communicate for the purposes of prostitution, procuring or keeping a brothel. 

The Salvation Army has said it is willing to meet with Vancouver sex workers who are up in arms about its new ad campaign that features graphic images they say depict all workers as sex slaves.

We're not afraid of talking to them or dealing with them, says Brian Venables, a BC Salvation Army spokesperson, told CTV.ca.

The campaign will carry on as planned, he said. We're not trying to hide. We've actually been trying to meet with them.

Some Vancouver sex workers say they are angry about the Truth Isn't Sexy campaign, which shows photos of women having their heads smashed into the ground or being strangled.

The campaign can be seen on public billboards, as well as on a dedicated website.

A coalition of sex trade worker advocacy groups says the campaign portrays all sex trade workers as human trafficking victims who didn't enter the sex trade by choice.

But Venables says the campaign is meant to focus on innocent victims who were kidnapped and forced into prostitution, and not meant to depict those who chose to enter the business. He says all the victim stories contained on the website are true: There's some confusion. This isn't a campaign against prostitution. We're not passing judgment or making moral decisions. This campaign is about people who don't have any choice. When I look at the ads I always see slavery. I never see prostitution, drugs, or organized crime, he said.

The Salvation Army said it launched the campaign in time for next year's Olympics, when it expects the number of human trafficking victims to increase. It says the influx of international visitors will lead to a jump in demand for sex trade workers in Vancouver. Pacey says there is no evidence to show this will be the case.