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Whenever the left wing does not achieve its objective by way of the political route, it turns to the tried and true method in Canada of obtaining its objectives ­ namely by bringing a legal challenge before the courts. The latter rarely let them down.

Background to the Legal Challenge of the Prostitution Law

[Download the pamphlet, Prostitution in Canada, in PDF format, which outlines the background on the prostitution law in Canada.]

Briefly, the former Liberal government had every intention of decriminalizing prostitution. For this purpose, it had agreed to establish a sub-committee of the House of Commons Justice Committee to review the prostitution law: it was expected that the Committee would recommend the law be decriminalized. The federal election in January 2006, however, interfered with the Liberals’ carefully laid plan. The Sub-Committee which had the extraordinary experience of continuing its work through the life of two different Parliaments, was unable to come to a consensus, thanks mainly to the work of the Chairman of the Justice Committee, and member of the Sub-Committee on Prostitution, Conservative MP Art Hanger (Calgary ­ Northeast). (See REALity Jan/Feb 2007 “Politicial and Judicial Manipulation on the Prostitution Issue", p. 8.)

As a result of this political failure to strike down the prostitution law, a prostitute group in Ontario and another in British Columbia have commenced legal challenges in their respective provinces in order to strike down the law on prostitution.

The lawyer arguing this legal challenge on behalf of the prostitution group is Osgoode Law School professor Alan Young. Mr. Young is no stranger to bringing cases to court in order to change our laws to fit a more liberal perspective. In 2000, he defended a legal action in the Ontario Court of Appeal which allowed the use of marijuana for medical purposes. The Minister of Justice at that time, Allan Rock, liked the decision so much that he never appealed it to the Supreme Court of Canada. Mr. Young also brought a legal challenge of the marijuana law before the Supreme Court of Canada, arguing that it was unconstitutional for the government to prohibit the use of marijuana. Fortunately, the Supreme Court of Canada, in one of its rare applications of common sense, ruled against Mr. Young.

Now it seems that Mr. Young wishes to achieve the liberation of our drug laws indirectly, by way of challenging the prostitution laws in the courts. That is, if brothels and homosexual bathhouses are decriminalized, they then become remarkably efficient centres for drug trafficking, which has been the experience of those countries that have decriminalized prostitution. For example, because of criminal activity, especially drug and human trafficking, in and around Amsterdam’s red light district, the authorities there closed down one third of the brothels.

This legal challenge to strike down the prostitution law, if successful, will result in very detrimental effects - practical, social, legal and health, that will undermine the social fabric in Canada. More specifically, it will have the tragic effect of damaging the health and well being of the vulnerable in our society, including young people and prostitutes and those in the communities in which they operate. Because of these serious implications, REAL Women, the Christian Legal Fellowship and the Catholic Civil Rights League have applied to intervene in the case. We have been fortunate in having a prominent and senior lawyer in Toronto, Robert Staley, act for us pro bono (without fee). The case is expected to be heard in Ontario in early March. No date has yet been set for a similar legal challenge launched in the British Columbia courts. We will update you as the cases proceed through the courts.

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