POWER speaks out about recent police activity

[Guest S****r]

Ottawa cops are targeting sex workers out of public dislike, not because they believe there is any human trafficking going on, critics say.

 

Prostitutes of Ottawa Work Educate Resist (POWER) penned a strongly worded criticism of a three-day police investigation into Ottawa massage parlours and body rub facilities which was announced late last week. Eleven women were ordered deported as a result.

 

POWER suggests the result is increasing vulnerability and isolation for women who work in the sex industry.

 

Cops showed up in uniform but unannounced at commercial buildings as well as some private residences.

 

Sgt. Jeff Leblanc said police were responding to public complaints and in one case someone had complained there were "30 to 40" cars in and out of the driveway next door.

 

The investigation, which ran from April 27-29, isn't considered a raid, he said.

 

While it was run by the Human Trafficking Section, no human trafficking was found. Instead, they inspected 20 places and laid 11 bylaw fines.

 

"We found a lot of foreign nationals working," Leblanc said. "We conducted interviews on-site to determine if there was any exploitation."

 

He said there were no apparent links between any of the locations where police conducted inspections.

 

Eleven women were detained by Canada Border Services for immigration matters and appeared for admissibility and detention hearings more than a week ago. All 11 were found to be working without a valid work permit.

 

They are "mainly Asian," according to Leblanc.

 

He said the women were either not doing the work described in their permits, their permits had expired, or both.

 

A number of follow-up investigations with their employers have begun, Leblanc said.

 

"We're not sure if any of them are properly licensed. We get complaints all the time," he said. "Shady activity and sketchy places. We saw a pattern developing, so we asked for bylaw to help."

 

Offering sexual services is illegal. The city has a Body Rub Parlour bylaw, which requires those places to obtain a licence if they are providing services not intended to be for "medical or therapeutic treatment." It costs $661 per year.

 

Elene Lam of the migrant sex workers advocacy group Butterfly said police are using the guise of human trafficking investigations to root-out sex workers.

 

"The sex industry is never going to disappear," she said. "There's a lot of reasons why women are in those places. Sex workers are your neighbours. Our society needs to learn to respect each other."

 

She said police investigations like this shouldn't result in marginalized women being deported, as it will only result in them working in more underground, isolated -- and thereby dangerous -- locations.

 

Twitter: @DougHempstead

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Not surprising. Wonder which locations were targeted.