Impotent Opposition Leaders

[cyclo 30131]

Well, not surprisingly, it looks like the opposition party leaders find sex work as politically distasteful as the conservatives. They don't seem to demonstrate any understanding of the issue beyond the tired cliches and don't seem to have much of substance to contribute to the public policy debate at this point.

 

Justin Trudeau wary of proposal to regulate, tax prostitution

 

CBC News

Posted:Jan 17, 2014 9:15 AM ET

Last Updated:Jan 17, 2014 10:21 AM ET

 

Justin Trudeau is keeping a wary distance from a Liberal proposal to legalize, regulate and tax prostitution just like any other commercial enterprise.

 

A resolution to legalize the sex trade is being pushed by the Liberal party's youth wing and is to be debated at the party's national policy convention next month in Montreal.

 

But the Liberal leader, who has enthusiastically embraced a resolution passed at the last convention to legalize marijuana, signalled Thursday that he doesn't favour taking the same approach to prostitution.

 

He played down the importance of the resolution and indicated that he views prostitution as a more complicated issue than pot.

 

"The priority of the Liberal party ... around our policy convention in February in Montreal is on economic success for the middle class. That is the centre of our focus," he said during a campaign stop with a provincial Liberal byelection candidate in Thornhill, Ont.

 

He noted that the prostitution resolution is just one of many to be debated at the convention and said he looks forward to hearing what Liberals have to say on the subject.

 

The debate is timely given that the Supreme Court has thrust the prostitution issue back onto the federal political agenda.

 

The top court last month struck down the country's prostitution laws as unconstitutional and gave Parliament a year in which to come up with a new legal regime to govern the sex trade. The court ruled that the current prohibitions on brothels, street solicitation and living off the avails of prostitution create life-threatening conditions for prostitutes, violating their right to life, liberty and security of the person.

 

"For now, I'm just very, very mindful that the Supreme Court came down very clearly that the current approach is not protecting extremely vulnerable women and sex workers and we need to make sure that we are finding a way to keep vulnerable Canadians protected from violence that surrounds prostitution but also is intrinsic to prostitution," Trudeau said.

 

In French, Trudeau went further, saying it's important to recognize that "prostitution itself is a form of violence against women." He called for a "responsible, informed debate" on the issue.

 

Trudeau also said Liberals are "certainly going to look at" the so-called Nordic model, which penalizes those who purchase sex, not those who sell it.

 

Conservatives have used the mere existence of the resolution to attack Trudeau for wanting to legalize both pot and prostitution. Veterans Affairs Minister Julian Fantino, a former Ontario police chief, waded into the fray Thursday.

 

"Justin Trudeau's Liberals have been clear: making prostitution and illegal drugs more accessible to Canadians are their priorities," Fantino said in a written statement.

 

"Under the leadership of Prime Minister (Stephen) Harper, our government is focused on protecting our communities from the effects of illegal drugs and vulnerable women from the harmful effects of legalized prostitution."

 

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair, attending a caucus strategy session in Ottawa, did not directly respond when asked if he'd consider legalizing prostitution. He said the issue is complex and needs to be studied by a parliamentary committee, hearing from police, health experts, community groups and sex trade workers.

 

Mulcair chastised Harper for failing to immediately launch such a study following the Supreme Court ruling.

 

http://www.cbc.ca/m/touch/canada/story/1.2500357

[Old Dog 179138]

It's ironic that in the interview yesterday with Evan Solomon on CBC, Tom Mulcair did not mention consultation with sex workers - he only mentioned police, social and welfare community groups, and health workers. I was rather dumbfounded by the statement (which he has apparently augmented.)

 

First and foremost the government at all levels (federal, provincial and municipal) should be engaged with sex workers to hammer out a feasible solution to the law making process. All levels of government will have to be involved - municipal licensing, and zoning will have to be considered, provincial healthcare, taxes and social welfare offices will have to be involved and federal stakeholders including public safety, immigration, aboriginal affairs, justice, health, status of women, etc will all have to have their say.

 

Mulcair did make a great point yesterday though. He stated that the federal government should have anticipated at least the possibility of the criminal code provisions being struck down by the Supreme Court and to that end, should have begun the consultation process well in advance of the actual decision. Kudos for that statement.

[cinelli 22184]

Fantino is full of BS. If not an outright liar. With his lack of integrity he should never have been elected to any public office.

 

Where exactly does Trudeau say he wants to make prostitution more accessible?

 

This will be the Tory's main strategy. Every time an interviewer mentions Trudeau, the Tory will say Trudeau is a pot head. Regardless of the actual subject being discussed...And now they will lie and say he is promoting prostitution.

[fortunateone 156618]

Also interesting to me is the assumption there that sex workers may not qualify to be 'middle class', the main focus of attention for Trudeau's Liberals?

 

I am often amazed at the general public's inability to consider that sex workers, in many fields have reasonably decent incomes.

 

The government did recognize that something might happen, long before it got to the SCC stage. They have just chosen not to do anything with the information collected, along with it's conclusions. You never seem to get the idea that any one of them has actually read it.

 

http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=2599932&Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=39&Ses=1&File=267

 

.

...Subcommittee after hearing the testimony of approximately 300 witnesses at public and private hearings held in Ottawa, Toronto, Montréal, Halifax, Vancouver, Edmonton and Winnipeg, from January 31 to May 30, 2005.

 

There are many pages, and quotes from some of the people speaking, but the above link is to the spot near the end, The Subcommittees Unanimous Recommendations.