Ontario's top court strikes down ban on brothels

[Lucy Goosey]

Last edited Mon Mar 26, 2012, 12:52 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: CBC

Ontario's top court has struck down the ban on brothels and ruled that prostitutes should be able to hire bodyguards.

The Ontario Court of Appeal agrees that the ban puts sex workers in danger and says they should be allowed to work safely indoors.


Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2012/03/26/ontario-appeal-court-sex-trade-laws-monday.html

---

I expect our Conservative government to appeal this to Canada's Supreme Court, if they can, but it's an interesting ruling regardless.


ON EDIT: More information becoming available:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ontarios-top-court-legalizes-brothels-in-bid-to-protect-prostitutes/article2381372/page1/

[Botany]

1. So does this make brothels and prostitution legal in Ontario?

[Lucy Goosey]

3. Prostitution wasn't illegal, per se...

Prostitution is technically legal, but all sorts of associated things were not - soliciting, living off the proceeds of prostitution (except for the prostitute herself/himself), operating a brothel (which was defined in such a way that just taking a client indoors = breaking the law).

The court decided to strike down the brothel statute and modify the "living off the income" statute (to prohibit exploitative pimping, but allow bodyguards or receptionists, etc.), because it determined that both impeded sex workers' rights to "security of person" as guaranteed by Canada's constitution.

[James48]

2. Meanwhile....

traffic at the Detroit-Windsor bridge hit record backups this morning, as Americans flocked to the new tourist resort opening this morning in Windsor...

[Blue_Tires]

4. it used to be like that just for the casinos on the weekends...