Sweet Emily J 172062 Report post Posted June 20, 2014 [B][U]Terri-Jean Bedford on the proposed new sex work law Bill C-36[/U][/B] Terri-Jean Bedford | June 20, 2014 [URL="http://rabble.ca/news/2014/06/terri-jean-bedford-on-proposed-new-sex-work-law-bill-c-36?utm_content=buffer8a63a&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer"]http://rabble.ca/news/2014/06/terri-jean-bedford-on-proposed-new-sex-work-law-bill-c-36?utm_content=buffer8a63a&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer[/URL] [QUOTE] In 2007 I was one of three women who began a constitutional challenge of Canada's prostitution laws. I am the Bedford in Bedford Versus Canada. Before that I was wrongly convicted under these laws, which were struck down in 2010 by Justice Himel. In 2012 the Ontario Court of Appeal basically supported her decision and in 2013 the Supreme Court, Chief Justice McLachlin writing, voted unanimously to support it as well. They said the laws were arbitrary, too vague, worked against stated objectives, endangered specific groups and put unfair restrictions on a legal activity, the sex trade. Unfair because no similar restrictions exist on other legal activities. All through this Mr. Nicholson, the Justice Minister, insisted the laws were constitutional, while Mr. Harper hid from the media and said he didn't know who I was. Who were they kidding? Perhaps the legal advisors they had then were the ones who are advising them now. Finally Mr. Harper dumped Mr. Nicholson and replaced him with Mr. MacKay, possibly to reward Mr. MacKay for making the RCMP a hotbed of sexual harassment and coverups. Mr. MacKay, with Mr. Harper out of the country of course, tabled new laws to replace the ones struck down and made other amendments to the Criminal Code. That was over a week ago. I have been reading and hearing a lot of reaction since that time. In fact, so much has been written and said about the proposed new law in recent days that I don't need to tell you about it here, except to say again that it will not survive the courts, is not enforceable on any significant scale and is a gift to organized crime if it does stand up. [URL="http://rabble.ca/news/2014/06/terri-jean-bedford-on-proposed-new-sex-work-law-bill-c-36?utm_content=buffer8a63a&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer"]Read Moreâ?¦[/URL] [/QUOTE] Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
