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December 17, 2014 the Honourable Kathleen Wynne Premier of Ontario Legislative Building Queen's Park Toronto on M7A 1A1 the Ho

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December 17, 2014 the Honourable Kathleen Wynne Premier of Ontario Legislative Building Queen's Park Toronto on M7A 1A1 the Ho December 17, 2014 17 décembre 2014 The Honourable Kathleen Wynne L’honorable Kathleen Wynne Premier of Ontario Première ministre de l’Ontario Legislative Building Édifice législatif Queen's Park Queen’s Park Toronto ON M7A 1A1 Toronto ON M7A 1A1 The Honourable Madeleine Meilleur L’honorable Madeleine Meilleur Attorney General of Ontario Procureure générale de l’Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General Ministère du procureur général McMurtry-Scott Building Édifice McMurtry-Scott 720 Bay Street, 11th Floor 720 rue Bay, 11ième étage Toronto, ON M7A 2S9 Toronto, ON M7A 2S9 Dear Premier and Attorney General: Chères Première ministre et Procureure générale, Re: The Protection of Communities and Exploited Re: Loi sur la protection des collectivités et des Persons Act personnes victimes d'exploitation We write to you as concerned citizens and Nous vous écrivons en tant que citoyens et members of the legal profession. membres de la communauté juridique. We are concerned about the direction the federal Nous sommes préoccupés par l’orientation prise government has taken with respect to adult par le gouvernement fédéral en ce qui a trait à la prostitution in Canada. The Protection of prostitution adulte au Canada. La Loi sur la Communities and Exploited Persons Act, which protection des collectivités et des personnes came into force on December 6, 2014, establishes victimes d'exploitation, entrée en vigueur le 6 a new legal regime that criminalizes many aspects décembre 2014, crée un nouveau régime juridique of adult prostitution, including the purchase of criminalisant plusieurs aspects de la prostitution sexual services, the advertisement of sexual adulte, y compris l’achat de services sexuels, la services, and communication for the purpose of publicité de services sexuels, et la communication prostitution. pour des fins de prostitution. As you know, the Supreme Court of Canada held Comme vous le savez, la Cour suprême du Canada unanimously in Canada (Attorney General) v. a unanimement statué, dans Canada (Procureur Bedford (“Bedford”), 2013 SCC 72 that three Général du Canada) c. Bedford ("Bedford"), 2013 former provisions of Canada’s laws on adult CSC 72, que trois des articles alors en vigueur en prostitution represented an unjustifiable matière de prostitution adulte au Canada infringement of sex workers’ right to security of constituaient une atteinte injustifiable au droit des 2 the person, contrary to section 7 of the Canadian travailleuse(-eur)s du sexe à la sécurité de leur Charter of Rights and Freedoms. These laws were personne, contrairement à l’article 7 de la Charte found to create and exacerbate dangerous canadienne des droits et libertés. La Cour a conclu conditions and impede sex workers from taking que ces articles créaient et exacerbaient de action to reduce the risks they face – sometimes dangereuses conditions, et empêchaient les with deadly consequences. We are concerned travailleuse(-eur)s du sexe de prendre les moyens that, for the very same reasons that led the Court nécessaires pour réduire les risques auxquels elles to strike down these earlier prostitution laws, the font face – parfois avec des conséquences new criminal regime is likely to violate the Charter mortelles. Nous craignons que, pour les mêmes as well. raisons qui ont mené la Cour à invalider les anciens articles, le nouveau régime criminel ne viole aussi The new prohibition on purchasing sexual la Charte. services (and a new, sweeping prohibition on a client communicating anywhere for that purpose) La nouvelle interdiction d’achat de services will have much the same effect as the former sexuels (et la nouvelle interdiction pour un client prostitution laws. Targeting clients will displace sex de communiquer n'importe où à ce sujet) aura les workers to isolated areas where prospective mêmes effets que l’ancienne loi. En ciblant les customers are less likely to be detected by police. clients, l’on déplacera les travailleuse(-eur)s du Such criminalization will continue to limit the sexe vers des endroits isolés où les clients practical ability of sex workers to screen their potentiels sont moins susceptibles d’être repérés clients or negotiate the terms of the transaction, par la police. Une telle criminalisation continuera as there will be pressure from clients to proceed as de limiter la capacité des travailleuse(-eur)s du quickly as possible. Sex workers will continue to sexe de filtrer leurs clients ou de négocier les face barriers to police protection. Furthermore, termes de la transaction, puisque les clients feront sex workers will continue to be prevented from pression afin de procéder le plus rapidement operating in most safe indoor spaces, as clients possible. Les travailleuse(-eur)s du sexe face the potential of being arrested if they attend continueront de rencontrer des barrières les such spaces. empêchant d’avoir accès à la protection de la police. De surcroît, les travailleuse(-eur)s du sexe As a result, while criminalizing the purchase of continueront d’être empêchées de travailler dans sexual services, rather than the sale, is said to be la plupart des endroits intérieurs sécuritaires aimed at protecting sex workers, this type of puisque les clients seront susceptibles d’être criminal prohibition will in fact do what the former arrêtés s’ils s’y rendent. prostitution laws did, which is to subject sex workers to greater risks to their safety. This En conséquence, bien que la criminalisation de constitutes the reason why the former laws were l'achat de services sexuels (plutôt que de leur invalidated in the Bedford judgment. vente) vise soi-disant la protection des travailleuse(-eur)s du sexe, ce type d’interdiction The new law also prohibits advertising of sexual criminelle reproduira les effets des anciennes lois, services. While an individual sex worker does not soit de mettre à risque la sécurité des travailleuse(- 3 face prosecution for advertising their own eur)s du sexe - raison pour laquelle les anciennes services, the provision can be interpreted as lois ont été invalidées dans l’arrêt Bedford. prohibiting any other party (e.g. newspaper, website, phone service, etc.) from carrying any La nouvelle loi interdit aussi la publicité de prostitution-related advertising. The practical services sexuels. Alors qu’une travailleuse(-eur) du effect is to make it more difficult for a sex worker sexe ne sera pas à risque de poursuite pour avoir to advertise. This type of prohibition will fait la publicité de ses propres services sexuels, la significantly limit sex workers’ ability to work disposition peut être interprétée comme safely indoors, as it restricts their ability to interdisant à toute autre partie (p ex., quotidiens, communicate their services to potential clients – sites Web, services téléphoniques) de véhiculer leaving only advertising their services through toute publicité liée à la prostitution. En pratique, il their physical presence outdoors as the sera donc plus difficile pour les travailleuse(-eur)s alternative. Yet in Bedford, the Court clearly found du sexe de faire de la publicité. Ceci limite de façon that the ability to operate in indoor venues is one importante la possibilité pour les travailleuse(- key way for sex workers to reduce the risk of eur)s du sexe de travailler en toute sécurité à violence. l'intérieur puisque leur capacité à communiquer leurs services aux clients potentiels est réduite, ne We would also like to address the prohibition on laissant que l’option de se rendre physiquement any communication, in a public place that is next visible à l’extérieur. Or, dans Bedford, la Cour a to a school ground, playground or day care clairement statué que travailler à l'intérieur, plutôt center, for the purposes of offering sexual qu’à l’extérieur, est une façon clé pour les services. This provision continues to criminalize travailleuse(-eur)s du sexe de réduire les risques street-based sex workers, who are among the de violence à leur égard. most marginalized segment of the industry. This provision, and the fact noted above that sex Nous voulons aussi aborder l'interdiction de toute workers’ clients are guilty of a crime for any communication dans un endroit public se communication to obtain their services, will have trouvant près d’un terrain d’école, d’un terrain de the same effect as the previous laws: sex workers jeux ou d’une garderie, dans le but d’offrir des will be less able to take the time to screen clients services sexuels. Cet article continue de and negotiate the terms of the transaction before criminaliser les travailleuse(-eur)s du sexe qui getting into a client’s car, and will be displaced to travaillent dans la rue, soit celles qui sont parmi les more isolated areas where they are at greater risk plus marginalisées de l'industrie. Cet article, et le of violence and less able to seek help if necessary. fait (expliqué ci-haut) que les clients sont coupables d’un crime pour toute communication We welcome your stated desire to “ensure that liée à l’obtention de services sexuels, auront les our laws and institutions enhance the safety of mêmes effets que les anciennes lois : les those who are vulnerable – in this case, sex travailleuse(-eur)s du sexe ne pourront prendre le workers: a class of (mostly) women who are temps de filtrer les clients et de négocier les disproportionately the victims of sexual and termes de la transaction avant d’entrer dans une physical violence.” In keeping with this voiture, et elles seront déplacées vers des zones 4 commitment, as you analyse the new regime, we plus isolées où elles sont plus à risque de violence urge you to keep in mind the harms that the et moins aptes à obtenir de l’aide si nécessaire. Supreme Court in Bedford said were caused by the then existing criminal prohibitions, as well as how Nous applaudissons l’intention que vous avez similar the new prohibitions are to the former exprimée d’ « assurer que nos lois et institutions ones and can therefore reasonably be expected to contribuent à la sécurité des personnes operate in the same way to produce the same vulnérables – en l’instance, les travailleuse(eur)s harms.
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