History of prostitution in Canada
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The history of prostitution in Canada is based on the fact that
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
inherited its criminal laws from
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. The first recorded laws dealing with
prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...
were in
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...
in 1759, although as early as August 19, 1675 the
Sovereign Council of New France The Sovereign Council (french: Conseil souverain) was a governing body in New France. It served as both Supreme Court for the colony of New France, as well as a policy-making body, though this latter role diminished over time. The council, though ...
convicted Catherine Guichelin, one of the
King's Daughters The King's Daughters (french: filles du roi or french: filles du roy, label=none in the spelling of the era) is a term used to refer to the approximately 800 young French women who immigrated to New France between 1663 and 1673 as part of a pr ...
, with leading a "life scandalous and dishonest to the public", declared her a prostitute and banished her from the walls of
Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...
under threat of the
whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...
. Following
Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Canada, Dom ...
, the laws were consolidated in the
Criminal Code A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that migh ...
. These dealt principally with pimping, procuring, operating brothels and soliciting. Most amendments to date have dealt with the latter, originally classified as a ''vagrancy'' offence, this was amended to ''soliciting'' in 1972, and ''communicating'' in 1985. Since the Charter of Rights and Freedoms became law, the constitutionality of Canada's prostitution laws have been challenged on a number of occasions.


Until the Second World War

Canada originally inherited many of its criminal laws from
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. The first legislation dealing with
prostitution in Canada Current laws passed by the Parliament of Canada in 2014 make it illegal to purchase or advertise sexual services and illegal to live on the material benefits from sex work. The law officially enacted criminal penalties for "Purchasing sexual se ...
was a
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...
Act of 1759 which allowed imprisonment for "lewd behaviour". Most prostitution in the early days of Canadian history took place in brothels which were in every city. Action by the authorities occurred only in the context of other criminal or socially undesirable activity taking place in or in the vicinity of these brothels such as creating a public nuisance. As in many other countries, what control there was of prostitution existed under
vagrancy Vagrancy is the condition of homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants (also known as bums, vagabonds, rogues, tramps or drifters) usually live in poverty and support themselves by begging, scavenging, petty theft, temporar ...
laws designed to keep public places free of "undesirables". Owners or operators of brothels (bawdy houses) could also be prosecuted as vagrants. These were based on the British
Vagrancy Act 1824 The Vagrancy Act 1824 (5 Geo. 4. c. 83) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that makes it an offence to sleep rough or beg in England and Wales. It is still mostly in force and enforceable. Critics, including William Wilberforce, c ...
. Once the federal government came into being following
Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
in 1867, it became possible to develop common criminal laws for all of Canada. Women under 21 were protected from 'defilement' from that date, while in 1869, vagrancy provisions were consolidated and extended to include males 'living on the avails' of prostitution. The penalties were increased in 1874, and bawdy houses regulated from 1886. By a lack of suitable alternatives, women were annexed into the sex industry. Only from about 1890 was there concern about the actual existence of prostitution, with religious groups, early feminists and women's groups such as Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) and the
National Council of Women of Canada The National Council of Women of Canada (NCWC, french: Conseil national des femmes du Canada, (''CNFC'')) is a Canadian advocacy organization based in Ottawa, Ontario, aimed at improving conditions for women, families, and communities. A federati ...
campaigning for social purity and against prostitution, which was condemned as a 'social evil', and '
white slave trade White slavery (also white slave trade or white slave trafficking) refers to the slavery of Europeans, whether by non-Europeans (such as West Asians and North Africans), or by other Europeans (for example naval galley slaves or the Vikings' thr ...
', a popular concern of the time. This produced an enthusiasm for rescuing 'fallen women'. However, with increasing action against brothels, more and more people working in prostitution carried out their business on the streets. The federal Parliament enacted the first
Criminal Code A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that migh ...
in 1892. Existing provisions were included and refined in the new Code, including making it an offence to procure women 'for unlawful carnal connection'. The laws continued to be amended in various ways over the years. From 1892 to 1972, this created an offence under 175(1)(c) for
''a vagrant who: being a common prostitute or nightwalker is found in a public place and does not, when required, give a good account of herself.''
Up to the 1880s prostitution was largely tolerated in the Prairie provinces. Before 1909 there were few arrests and even fewer fines for prostitution, in part because those caught were encouraged to leave town rather than be jailed. As the population became more settled, however, public opinion regarding this resource for itinerant men turned hostile. For example, a smallpox epidemic in the red light districts of Calgary ignited a crackdown as demanded by middle-class women reformers. Local chapters of the
Woman's Christian Temperance Union The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an international temperance organization, originating among women in the United States Prohibition movement. It was among the first organizations of women devoted to social reform with a program th ...
vigorously opposed both saloons and prostitution, and called for woman suffrage as a tool to end those evils.Judy Bedford, "Prostitution In Calgary 1905-1914". ''Alberta History'' 1981 29(2): 1-11; Nancy M. Sheehan, "The WCTU on the Prairies, 1886-1930: An Alberta-Saskatchewan Comparison." ''Prairie Forum'' (1981) 6#1 pp 17-33.


Postwar

The social purity movement became much less prominent after
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
but had little effect on the extent of prostitution, but there was now less public concern. Throughout enforcement was heavily gendered, with only a few men prosecuted under the avails and procurement laws. In 1947, it became an offence to transport a woman to a bawdy house.


Vagrancy

The original 1892 Criminal Code described 12 ways in which a "loose, idle or disorderly person or vagrant" might be arrested and upon conviction subjected to a maximum fine of $50 or imprisonment not exceeding six months with or without hard labour. This was directed at the person as "vagrant" (status law). In 1954, amendments made vagrancy the doing of a prohibited act, and these were reduced to five. Three of them dealt with street disorder and were nicknamed ''Vag A, B and C'' after the respective clauses, and thus the prostitution prohibition as Vag C or ''vagrancy (c)''. The original vagrancy laws were discriminatory in that they were applied overwhelmingly to women and criminalised the status of "being a common prostitute" rather than criminalising the behaviours associated with prostitution. For these reasons, the original status offences for prostitution could be said to contravene the current
Charter of Rights and Freedoms The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (french: Charte canadienne des droits et libertés), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part o ...
br>
Both the judiciary and the 1970 Report of the Royal Commission on the Status of Women complained about this. In 1972 section 164.1:
No Apparent Means of Support
Every one commits vagrancy who:
(a) -not having any apparent means of support is found wandering abroad or trespassing and does not, when required, justify his presence in the place where he is found;
(b) -begs from door to door or in a public place;
(c) -''being a common prostitute or night walker is found in a public place and does not, when required, give a good account of herself''
was replaced by language prohibiting soliciting (communicating) for the purposes of prostitution (section 195.1), which read:
''every person who solicits any person in a public place for the purpose of prostitution is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.''
The new law was now
gender neutral Gender neutrality (adjective form: gender-neutral), also known as gender-neutralism or the gender neutrality movement, is the idea that policies, language, and other social institutions (social structures or gender roles) should avoid distinguish ...
and defined an offence based on an act (although not the nature of the act) and was thought to have addressed the social nuisance concerns of residents. However it soon became clear that there were now new problems. In ''Hutt v. R.'' (1978) CC 82 D.L.R. (3d) 95it was held that for the activities of a prostitute to be criminal their conduct must conform to the dictionary definition of "solicit"; it must be importuning, or "pressing or persistent" and constitute more than a mere indication that she was willing to prostitute herself. A plainclothes police officer permitted the appellant to enter his car. She then identified herself as a prostitute and discussed terms. The Court did not believe that this fell within the intent of parliament to prohibit acts "which would contribute to public inconvenience." Four judges indicated that they would not have considered an automobile a "public place," also excluding the actions from section 195.1. Following this there was concern that the police could no longer act against street prostitution unless there was "pressing or persistent" behaviour.


Municipal initiatives

Residents started to campaign against sex work as a public nuisance, primarily to have it shifted out of their neighbourhoods. The 1978 ''Hutt'' decision led to public pressure to amend section 195.1 to expand the definition of soliciting. Street prostitution was described as a " plague" and there was pressure to deal with activity that was claimed to blight residential and commercial areas, and to be associated with criminal activity, including drugs and exploitation of children. The federal government was seen to not be proactive on this prompting some cities to take action.
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
(1980) and
Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
(1981) enacted bylaws that banned the use of streets and other public areas for prostitution. These cities claimed powers, derived from the provinces, to regulate the streets and restrict criminality. Although police and city officials claimed the bylaws to be effective, they were found to be unconstitutional. In ''
Westendorp v R ''Westendorp v R'', 9831 S.C.R. 43 was a decision of the Supreme Court of Canada on the scope of the federal Parliament's criminal law power under section 91(27) of the Constitution Act, 1867. A unanimous Court found that a municipal by-law that pr ...
'' (1983) the Supreme Court found the Calgary by‑law was ''
ultra vires ('beyond the powers') is a Latin phrase used in law to describe an act which requires legal authority but is done without it. Its opposite, an act done under proper authority, is ('within the powers'). Acts that are may equivalently be termed ...
''. Similarly for Montreal (Goldwax et al. v. City of Montreal,
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2 S.C.R. 525). These rulings therefore nullified other similar bylaws enacted or proposed in
Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
,
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, Regina and Halifax. However, a 1983 Montreal by‑law forbidding the selling of any services on city streets without a permit was upheld in
Quebec Superior Court The Superior Court of Quebec (french: Cour supérieure du Québec) is a superior trial court in the Province of Quebec, in Canada. It consists of 157 judges who are appointed by the federal government. Appeals from this court are taken to the Qu ...
. Agitation for change continued at the municipal level as being most directly affected by the presence of prostitution.
Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
and
Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
created task forces in 1992 while Halifax, Montreal and
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
police addressed juvenile prostitution and, in particular, exiting schemes.


Ottawa

Ottawa made 33 recommendations. Many of these focused on enforcement, while others addressed
crime prevention Crime prevention is the attempt to reduce and deter crime and criminals. It is applied specifically to efforts made by governments to reduce crime, enforce the law, and maintain criminal justice. Studies Criminologists, commissions, and research b ...
, education and crisis intervention programs. Others supported the 1990 C49 report for a re-examination of the Fraser Report. Specifically, these addressed funding for research and more control of harassment or obstruction. The Ottawa report also asked the Minister to work with municipalities to establish a National Crime Prevention Council. In response, the City took action to deter automobile traffic in certain areas.


Edmonton

Edmonton focused on the juvenile issue, proposing amendments to child welfare legislation and the Criminal Code. It also proposed bylaws to regulate dating and escort services, exotic entertainers and massage parlours, including licensing, which were subsequently enacted.


Toronto

In response to the 1995 Federal-Provincial-Territorial Working Group on Prostitution report "Dealing with Prostitution in Canada," Toronto's Board of Health advocated decriminalisation in 1995, with the City taking the responsibility of regulating the industry. The City then endorsed these proposals, further specifying that it involved only adult prostitution, supporting the federal report's proposals on juveniles. Toronto also enacted a bylaw to restrict intimate erotic lap dancing in August 1995 to prohibit physical contact, including touching, between patrons and attendants, with a maximum fine of $50,000, and revocation of licences. Adult entertainment parlours were unsuccessful in having this quashed by the courts. In Ont. Adult Entertainment Bar Assn. v. Toronto, 26 O.R. (3d) 257
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it was held that the bylaw was enacted for valid objectives relating to business regulation, including health, safety and the prevention of crime, and did not usurp the Government's jurisdiction over criminal law. The court did not believe that the bylaw violated dancers' freedom of expression. Close-contact dancing was not a constitutionally protected right. This was upheld at the appellate level.


Other

Other cities saw Edmonton and Toronto as examples of allowing municipal intervention without being ''
ultra vires ('beyond the powers') is a Latin phrase used in law to describe an act which requires legal authority but is done without it. Its opposite, an act done under proper authority, is ('within the powers'). Acts that are may equivalently be termed ...
'' and the 1990s saw
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
, Vancouver, Calgary,
Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
, Sault Ste. Marie and
Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...
following suit.
Civil suit - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the Civil law (common law), civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in re ...
s, however, were undertaken on the basis of over-charging licence fees In 2002, an Edmonton prostitute commenced an action against the City, demanding it lower the license fee for escorts from $1,600. The action claimed that the City of Edmonton was "living off the avails of prostitution" by imposing such a high licence fee.


Provincial initiatives

In 1984, the British Columbia Attorney General applied to the
B.C. Supreme Court BC most often refers to: * Before Christ, a calendar era based on the traditionally reckoned year of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth * British Columbia, the westernmost province of Canada * Baja California, a state of Mexico BC may also refer to: ...
for an injunction to restrain, as a common law public nuisance, prostitution‑related activity in a residential area of Vancouver. The interim injunction (A.G. B.C. v. Couillard (1984), 42 C.R. (3d) 273) prohibited persons from publicly offering or appearing to offer themselves, directly or indirectly, for the purposes of prostitution, in addition it addressed trespassing and disturbance of the peace by prostitutes. Evidence was presented from residents of the West End as to the effect on their neighbourhood. However, the interim measure was rescinded after the enactment of new legislation in December 1985. In 1984, the Attorney General of Nova Scotia applied for an injunction in the City of Halifax. The application was refused on the grounds of being ''ultra vires''. The
Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...
upheld this in March 1985 (A.G. N.S. v. Beaver (1985), 67 N.S.R. (2d) 281, 155 A.P.R. 281). The provinces have continued to seek ways of controlling prostitution without infringing Parliament's jurisdiction over the Criminal Code. The Traffic and Highway Acts in several provinces have been amended to allow police to seize, impound and sell vehicles of clients.
Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...
enacted this in 1999. In 2001 and 2002, Nova Scotia,
Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
, and
Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...
followed.
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
went further in 2002 with a civil law allowing the province to ask the courts to freeze, seize and forfeit to the Crown property that is the proceeds of unlawful activity including prostitution, without involving criminal charges. Other provincial Acts authorize the suspension of a driver's licence on conviction of a prostitution related offence involving a motor vehicle.


Inquiries


Fraser Committee (1983–85)

The Justice Minister established a committee in June 1983 to enquire into prostitution and pornography, headed by Paul Fraser, which reported in April 1985. The other members of the committee were: Susan Clark, Mount St Vincent University, Halifax; Mary Eberts, a civil litigator specialising in equality issues, from Toronto; Jean-Paul Gilbert, a member of the National Parole Board, Montreal; John McLaren, Dean of Law at the University of Windsor;
Andrée Ruffo Andrée Ruffo is a former Quebec judge named to the Bench in 1987. She faced numerous disciplinary hearings in the past, to the point where her legal fees, paid by the province, have totaled more than $1 million. She was reprimanded after one epis ...
, a lawyer practising in family law in Montreal; Joan Wallace, a lawyer specialising in human rights, Vancouver."Pornography and Prostitution in Canada - Report of the Special Committee on Pornography and Prostitution - Summary"
Department of Justice Canada, 1985.
That report stated that prostitution was widespread in Canada, particularly in cities. Although empirical evidence was lacking, it concluded that economic necessity was a major motivation for many women. Public opinion was ambivalent. Most people opposed further criminalization, but there was support for actions to alleviate public nuisance associated with it. In the report, three strategies were considered; criminalization, decriminalization, and regulation. Further criminalization would prohibit all forms of prostitution but was felt to be impossible to enforce, had little public support, and represented the imposition of moral views through the criminal law. The Committee did not fully support decriminalisation either, on the grounds that it found little evidence that all of the harms would be alleviated. The Committee also rejected regulation by the state. Instead, the Committee put forward recommendations having elements of all three approaches. For the first time, recommendations addressed underlying economic and social issues, whose alleviation might improve the situation. The Committee recommended addressing social inequalities between genders, assisting women and youth in need, and funding of community groups involved with prostitution. While the Committee (with one dissension) did not support complete decriminalisation, it suggested thorough revision of the criminal law, with tougher penalties for street prostitution because of the harm of disturbance and nuisance. It suggested a new offence of interfering or attempting to interfere, on more than one occasion, with pedestrian or vehicular traffic for the purposes of offering to engage in prostitution or of employing the services of a prostitute but not the mere offer or acceptance without disturbance. This was to be balanced by easing restrictions on other activities. Bawdy house provisions were to be amended to allow up to two workers on a premise as out was illogical to permit prostitution but make it illegal to perform it anywhere. The committee thought that a maximum of two persons would be unlikely to be associated with public nuisance and would allow a worker to use their own home. It also proposed that prostitution establishments be permitted to be licensed and operated by provincial or territorial governments, like other businesses. The Committee recommended repeal of the offences of procuring and living on the avails of prostitution, limiting this to the use of force, threats or other coercive or threatening behaviour. The Committee concluded its report as follows:
''Prostitution cannot be dealt with on a piecemeal basis, but only by carefully linking the provisions on each aspect of prostitution-related activity.''
Response was varied. Authorities were positive about strengthening measures against street work, but negative about relaxing sanctions against indoor work, and no support emerged at the Provincial level.


C-49 Review (1987-90)

Bill C-49 (1985) stated its objectives were to remove "street prostitutes and their customers from "downtown neighbourhoods." It also mandated a review within three years. A research study was therefore undertaken in 1987–88 to determine whether C-49 resulted in "a reduction in the nuisance of street prostitution
Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
,
Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
,
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
,
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
and Halifax were chosen as major test sites, with smaller studies in Regina,
Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
,
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
,
Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Falls, ...
,
Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
,
Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...
and
Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...
. Interviews were conducted with police officers, Crown prosecutors, defence lawyers, judges, prostitutes, customers, pimps, social agency staff, and business people and residents. Baseline data was available from the 1984 report of the Fraser Committee. The report, "Street Prostitution: Assessing the Impact of the Law" was published in July 1989 by the Department of Justice. The report concluded that although the
''practice of street prostitution was modified somewhat by the communicating law ... (i)n most of the cities included in the study, street prostitution was as prevalent as it was before the new law.''
In 1989, the Standing Committee on Justice and the Solicitor General conducted a comprehensive review of Bill C‑49, reporting in October 1990. Its three recommendations were the following: - (1) that the departments responsible for justice, health and welfare, and employment, at all levels of government, develop programs to provide start‑up and core funding to community‑based agencies providing integrated, holistic programs accessible and responsive to the needs of male and female prostitutes wishing to leave the street solicitation trade; - (2) that the Identification of Criminals Act be amended to allow for the fingerprinting and photographing of those charged under section 213 of the Criminal Code, whether as prostitutes or as customers; and - (3) that section 213 of the Criminal Code be amended to provide sentencing judges with the discretion to prohibit persons convicted of street solicitation involving a motor vehicle, in addition to any other penalty imposed, from driving a motor vehicle for a period not to exceed three months. Essentially, in its 1991 response, the government rejected the recommendations and did not amend legislation. It suggested that rather than proceed with developing exit strategies, further consultation should be undertaken, and that further penalties would not enhance exiting. The final recommendation was also rejected as being irrational.


Further amendments to the Criminal Code

Despite the apparently neutral language of the law, the courts continued to interpret 'person' as woman, requiring a 1983 amendment defining "prostitute" as a person of either sex who engages in prostitution. The next problem, also relating to gender neutrality, was the issue of whether it was discriminatory, applying only to the seller not the buyer. Case law was inconsistent. The B.C. Court of Appeal held "for the purpose of prostitution" referred only to the seller (R. v. Dudak (1978), 3 C.R. (3d) 68) while the Ontario Court of Appeal held (in R. v. DiPaola (1978), 4 C.R. (3d) 121) that it referred to either party.


C-49 (1985)

It was clear that the law needed to be reviewed, and Bill C‑49 was introduced in 1985, coming into force on December 28, 1985, replacing section 195.1. The new offence (section 213) referred to any person in a public place (or place open to public view) who stopped or attempted to stop a motor vehicle, impeded pedestrian or vehicular traffic, or interfered with the entry to a building, or stopped any person or engaged in
''communicating in a public place for the purposes of prostitution''
"Public place" was defined as including motor vehicles in or on public places. This section was to be reviewed after three years. The Justice Minister stated that further amendments would be forthcoming, but nothing came of this. The section was challenged unsuccessfully in the Supreme Court in 1990. The new section was welcomed by citizens and authorities, but critics claimed it would merely displace the phenomenon, endanger workers, and give the police and court too much discretionary power.


C-15 (1988)

In 1988 Bill C‑15 made it an offence to obtain or attempt to obtain the sexual services of a minor, increasing the maximum penalty to 14 years for anyone convicted of living on the avails of a prostitute under the age of 18 years.


C-36 (2014)

Following a declaration by the Supreme Court in December 2013 that certain key provisions in the existing law were unconstitutional,
Peter MacKay Peter Gordon MacKay (born September 27, 1965) is a Canadian lawyer and politician. He was a Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2015 and has served as Minister of Justice and Attorney General (2013–2015), Minister of National Defence (2007â ...
introduced Bill C-36, the ''Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act'' in June 2014. The bill was approved by the Senate on November 4, 2014, and came into effect on December 6, 2014. Unlike previous legislation, C-36 primarily targets those who buy sex, and seeks to reduce the demand for prostitution—a term which was widely replaced with the euphemism "sexual services for consideration". Bill C-36 made it illegal to " btainsexual services for consideration", receive "material benefits" from sexual services performed by another person, and to "knowingly advertise an offer to provide sexual services for consideration" by another person. Individual sex workers are given a form of immunity for advertising or receiving consideration from "their own" sexual services. The previous prohibition on communicating in public places for the purposes of such services was loosened, and now only applies to communications conducted at or near
day care Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to 18 years. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(r ...
facilities,
school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...
s, and
playground A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people ...
s, and when one interrupts pedestrian or vehicular traffic to perform such communications. Supporters of Bill C-36 argued that the bill would help improve safety for sex workers. Those against the law argued that the law restricts the ability for sex workers to safely search for clients and conduct their business. Emily Symons, chairperson of POWER, an advocacy group for prostitutes in the
Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
region, argued that C-36 "not only reintroduces laws deemed unconstitutional in a unanimous decision by the Supreme Court only one year ago — it actually makes them worse."


References

{{Prostitution in Canada Prostitution in Canada Law of Canada
Prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...