A Shameful Anti-Prostitution Law

[Sweet Emily J 172062]

[B][U]A Shameful Anti-Prostitution Law[/U][/B]

Ottawa Citizen Editorial Board | June 6, 2014

[URL="http://ottawacitizen.com/news/politics/editorial-a-shameful-prostitution-law"]http://ottawacitizen.com/news/politics/editorial-a-shameful-prostitution-law[/URL]

[QUOTE]
The most shameful thing about the Conservative governmentâ??s prostitution bill is its political cynicism and callous indifference.

The Supreme Court ruling in December, and the evidence that informed it, showed plainly that sex trade workers are at risk because of laws that make it difficult for them to vet clients and work in safe places. The governmentâ??s new law does not even bother to try to address those harms. It doubles down on them, making it more dangerous for prostitutes to communicate with clients in advance.

There are two possible interpretations of the governmentâ??s motives.

The most disturbing possibility: it believes the Court will strike down the new law, but in the meantime, the government can gain political points for a few years by picking a fight with the courts and the opposition parties. Such a strategy is an insult to the very notion of the rule of law â?? not to mention a waste of public money. To draft a law in the belief it likely runs counter to the Constitution would be arbitrary and despotic.

The second possibility is better, but not by much. The government might believe that the new law will pass a Supreme Court challenge â?? not because it reduces or eliminates any of the harms, but only because it provides new justifications for those harms.

In other words, it is arguing that itâ??s acceptable to put prostitutes at risk because the law is now motivated by what the government sees as the prostitutesâ?? best interests. The philosophy behind this law is that it is sometimes okay for a government to draft laws that endanger consenting adults engaging in legal behaviour (the selling of sex remains legal), because those people donâ??t know whatâ??s good for them and the government does.

To believe this, one would have to put oneâ??s fingers in oneâ??s ears any time sex workers speak, but the government seems more than willing to do that.

The government is coupling its harsh new laws with $20 million in new program funding, with an â??emphasis on funding programs that can help individuals exit prostitution.â? In other words, the government will help sex workers, but only if they get out of the business.

Itâ??s 2014, and our government is more interested in telling people what to do with their lives â?? and in mass surveillance â?? than in protecting citizens from overreaching laws. This from the party that killed the long-form census and the gun registry because of its ostensible belief in personal freedom. If there are any libertarians left among Conservative voters, they ought to be outraged â?? and looking for a new political home.
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