Decriminalize Now - A Suggestion

[mrrnice2 157005]

As a child of the late 60's and early 70's the anthems of Bob Dylan and Joan Baez still ring true to me. Justice and freedom are very important to me and as those artists did in their own way through their music and as anti Vietnam war protesters did in their way, Canadians this past week called for their own freedom and their own quest for justice with the overwhelming choice to dump the Harper agenda and his way of dictating.

 

Mr. Trudeau made many election promises and now that he is in the real world it shall be of great interest to me and to many whether he will honor those promises.

 

The promise that probably should be of common interest to all of us here is his opposition to Bill C-36 which has become the bill entitled the, "Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act." There have been references to this in other threads with the general feeling seeming to be that it will not be a priority for Mr. Trudeau to change and therefore we should not expect the repeal of the legislation to happen at least in the short term.

 

Despite being a political junkie and following it closely I am probably one of the least politically aware people in the country about how things actually happen. My own thought is that if it is going to happen then it will have to happen relatively early in his mandate because once another election draws near in four years it would become a political football.

 

This brings me to the point of this thread. When the Supreme Court of Canada struck down the old laws in order to remove dangerous working conditions for sex workers there were many of us here who wrote letters to our Members of Parliament, to the Minister of Justice and to the Prime Minister, all without success. The Conservatives had plotted their course and did what they were going to do regardless of facts or research or the Supreme Court decision.

 

I will argue that now is the time for another writing campaign to our new Members of Parliament, to our new Prime Minister and to the new Minister of Justice once he or she is appointed.

 

As well, since the Supreme Court decision came down I have sent $50 a month, or at least most months, to P.O.W.E.R in order to give my little bit by way of support. It is organizations such as P.O.W.E.R out of Ottawa, and STELLA out of Montreal and P.I.V.O.T out of B.C. that may well be the organizations of sex worker advocates that exert formal, "Pressure," on the new government to repeal the law and decriminalize. Any little bits of financial support that you can send their way may be a wonderful personal investment for each and every one of us.

 

I shall do my letter writing to parliamentarians and continue my little bits of financial support to sex worker rights advocates. I hope that many of us will do the same. Now is not the time to sit back but rather the time to become active and vocal again.

[mrrnice2 157005]

It is quite possible that everyone here, sex workers and clients alike have been jaded by our experience of over a year ago. If you were on Cerb at that time you may well recall the thread about the New Prostitution Law and maybe you were a participant in all the work that was done to fight the new legislation. I know looking back that it leaves a sour taste in my mouth as I saw law makers ignore all of the emails, the Supreme Court, research and most of all, sex workers themselves.

 

I continue to be optimistic that with a new government that appears to be willing to be open minded and fair, that we do have an opportunity. It will require I expect a little push not only from sex worker advocacy groups, but from individuals such as you and I as well.

 

Despite our total lack of success the last time I shall continue encouraging everyone to be vocal and whatever campaign we mounted last time to double it. Wouldn't it be nice to have that law repealed before Joy Smith gets her hands on that $20 million to save women from making their own choices.

 

In our parliamentary system we do have our processes and procedures, and these can take time. I really don't know if the government really does choose to repeal a bill what the steps are. Does it involve a first second and third reading? Are there mandatory committee hearings? Even with success in the House of Commons ultimately a Conservative Senate majority could choose to vote it down?

 

I checked today on the Government of Canada site and the email addresses for our new Members of Parliament will not be available until the first week of November. When that is available I shall post the information.

 

Please, despite our lack of success the last time, do not despair. Become vocal again and support the sex worker advocacy groups that are already out there that are no doubt working on this and deciding upon their approach.

 

With Great Confidence,

MN2

[blacklabdog 3049]

often I see a letter template outlining arguements for change that people can use would help lazy peeps like me

[mrrnice2 157005]

often I see a letter template outlining arguements for change that people can use would help lazy peeps like me

 

When I write mine I shall post it, as many people did the last time. I encourage others to do the same.

[drlove 37204]

...Even with success in the House of Commons ultimately a Conservative Senate majority could choose to vote it down?

 

I have an idea.... If that were a likely scenerio, what if we just asked the Liberals to refer the isue to the SCC? I believe the high court would undoubtedly strike down the current legislation. Then we would be in position where the government could simply let the exiting laws fall, without the need to write new ones which could potentially be voted down by the Senate. In effect, we would have a defacto decriminalization of the industry. Admittedly, my knowledge about the courts and the legislative process is a bit scant, so if there is an error with my reasoning, please point it out. However, it seems like it could work...

[Ice4fun 78407]

Even with success in the House of Commons ultimately a Conservative Senate majority could choose to vote it down?

 

The Conservatives just got their ass handed to them on a platter so if the government acted fast to repeal or amend the current law I think it would be extremely doubtful that the conservative senators would be willing to challenge the authority of a newly elected house of parliament over a prostitution law... maybe over a financial issue but not this law as there is no upside for them and let's face it the Senate wants to protect themselves.

 

The problem as I see it is that it does not seem likely to me that this will be a high priority item for the new government... I hope it is but I am doubtful.

 

Just m Opinion

[drlove 37204]

Today on the news, reporters were talking about Conservative bills that are due to be repealed / amended, according to Justin Trudeau. They mentioned C-24 and C-51... that's it. Nothing said about C-36 whatsoever, so it's up to us to get the word out and keep the pressure on!

[mrrnice2 157005]

As mentioned above, it appears as if the new government is planning to move quickly on exploring what wrongs of Mr. Harper and Mr.McKay need to be righted.

 

P.M. Trudeau has publicly released his letters of mandate to his new cabinet ministers. His letter to Ms. Wilson-Raybould includes the following paragraph.

 

"You should conduct a review of the changes in our criminal justice system and sentencing reforms over the past decade with a mandate to assess the changes, ensure that we are increasing the safety of our communities, getting value for money, addressing gaps and ensuring that current provisions are aligned with the objectives of the criminal justice system."

 

Bill C-36 is not specifically mentioned so I reiterate that now is the time to write as a concerned Canadian. During the so called review process prior to the law being implemented it appeared as if many Cerb (Lyla) members wrote to a government that couldn't have cared less. Who knows what the Liberals will do but give them a chance to show that they care. If they think that you don't care then no legislation changes will be no ones fault but our own. Write a damn letter....please.

[TorontoMelanieJolliet 4458]

When I wrote the old government about veterans, and then the prostitution law, and then the Fair Elections Act and then the Anti Terrorism (Privacy) Act I did not even receive one acknowledgment. I was however removed from the voters list, but I checked and got back on. :)

 

I laughed when I read this .... Good for you standing up for things you believe in ... and thank goodness you got back on the voters list LOL

[mrrnice2 157005]

Maybe just maybe she is listening?? Newspaper Article.

[drlove 37204]

Maybe just maybe she is listening?? Newspaper Article.

 

I sure hope so.... I'd like for this instance (in the case of C-36) to be more than just paying lip service to the issue at hand, and having nothing be done about it. We need to convince government to act NOW! C-36 is an affront to liberty, democracy and the intent of our judicial system. It's a bad law that must be seen for what it is - an abomination that has no place in our Canada!

[waterat 20911]

NOW! C-36 is an affront to liberty, democracy and the intent of our judicial system. It's a bad law that must be seen for what it is - an abomination that has no place in our Canada!

 

Yup. Bill C-36 needs to go and we should all follow mrrnice2's lead and join the letter campaign - at the very least. Anyone braver than me ready to pursue this all the way to the supreme court?