[SWAF-Potluck] TONIGHT! --> Vancouver East Liberals will host town hall meeting on Bill C-36

[w.jc.pritchard]

 Vancouver East Liberals will host town hall meeting on Bill C-36, which
criminalizes prostitution
by Charlie Smith <http://www.straight.com/users/charlie-smith> on Sep 22,
2014 at 4:57 pm
<http://www.straight.com/files/styles/popup/public/Sex%20workers%202.jpg>

More than three months ago, I suggested that Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau
was the only hope for sex workers
<http://www.straight.com/news/660346/justin-trudeau-only-hope-sex-workers>.

It came in the wake of the Conservative government unveiling Bill C-36,
which criminalizes the customers of sex workers.

Some commenters on this website ripped into me for suggesting that Trudeau
would do this. After all, Trudeau has previously supported the Nordic
model, which also criminalizes the client.

My response is that Trudeau changed his views on marijuana.

There's no reason he wouldn't reverse his position on prostitution if there
were sufficient public support and if evidence led the Liberals in that
direction.

The research by SFU's John Lowman and others is already clear. Sex workers'
lives are jeopardized when the state drives their industry underground.

That's why the Supreme Court of Canada concluded that Criminal Code
prohibitions on soliciting clients in public, keeping a common bawdy house,
and living off the avails of prostitution are unconstitutional.

The government's response, Bill C-36, might as well be called the Willie
Pickton Law. That's because it will make it easier for predators to kill
sex workers after the Harperites have once again pushed sex workers to the
margins.

I'm surprised that Justice Minister Peter MacKay would countenance
something like this, but who knows what's going on his brain?

This week, the Vancouver East Liberals have announced that they will host a
town hall meeting on Bill C-36. It suggests that the party has an open mind
on this issue.

Door open at 6:30 p.m. at the Strathcona Community Centre on Thursday
(September 25).

The panel features sex-workers' advocate Jamie Lee Hamilton, Vancouver park
commissioner Sarah Blyth, and UBC researcher Becki Ross.

It's taking place in the riding of NDP MP Libby Davies, who's long been an
advocate for increasing sex workers' safety.

In 2002, Davies introduced a motion in Parliament to review prostitution
laws. That was the same year that Pickton was charged with 26 murders.

Late last year, Davies issued a statement
<http://www.libbydavies.ca/news/pressrelease/2013/12/20/statement-supreme-court-ruling-prostitution-laws#.VCC00fldVI4>
welcoming the Supreme Court of Canada's ruling
<http://www.straight.com/news/553411/supreme-court-canada-rules-three-prostitution-laws-are-unconstitutional>
striking down three sections of the Criminal Code.

"The exploitation, murder and violence against sex trade workers in Canada
happens at an alarming rate, and until today, the laws dealing with
prostitution remained unchanged and governments remained unwilling to
realistically deal with this growing public safety issue," she said. "These
laws have been a failure, both from the perspective of assisting and
protecting sex workers as well as in mitigating the impacts of street
prostitution on local communities."

Davies also spoke at a rally this year opposing Bill C-36.

So why is Justin Trudeau and not NDP leader Tom Mulcair the only hope for
sex workers?

It's because most of Davies' colleagues in Parliament have been silent on
this issue. And if the NDP forms government, there's no guarantee that it
will reverse the criminalization of customers and other unconstitutional
aspects of Bill C-36 until Mulcair delivers an unequivocal statement on
this issue.

It's fine and dandy for him to stand up in Parliament and put the
government's feet to the fire with regard to Senate expenses. But Bill C-36
is legislation that will result in people dying unnecessarily. Why isn't
the Opposition leader putting as much energy into this?

In the meantime, the federal Liberals are seeking public input. That's the
first step along the road to developing better policies.

It's why I still believe that Justin Trudeau is the only hope for sex
workers.
*Follow Charlie Smith on Twitter @csmithstraight
<https://twitter.com/csmithstraight>.*
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