Demonstrators urge Supreme Court to legalize prostitution

A Montreal demonstrator showed his support for the legalization of the sex trade Saturday by holding a sign that reads, "son of a prostitute." (CP Ben Shingler).

MONTREAL - Sex workers and their supporters held a series of protests across Canada Saturday, including one in Montreal, in an effort to mobilize support prior to a big Supreme Court decision expected next week.

The Supreme Court will hear arguments on Thursday from both advocates for the decriminalization of prostitution as well as from representatives of the federal government, which seeks to maintain the existing law.

The decision will be the last step in a process started in 2009 by sex workers Terry-Jean Bedford, Valerie Scott and Amy Lebovitch, who filed a complaint challenging sections of the Canadian Criminal Code dealing with prostitution.

The Superior Court of Ontario sided with their cause in September 2010, as Justice Susan Himel struck down three sections of the Criminal Code dealing with prostitution. The Canadian government appealed and asked that the application of the decision be postponed.

The three articles in question relate to houses of debauchery, living off the avails of prostitution and solicitation.

Himel ruled that these articles violated the rights to freedom and security provided by section seven of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The judge ruled that the harm to sex workers caused by the application of these laws far exceed those caused to the community.

The Canadian government appealed the decision to the Supreme Court.

Stella, a group fighting for the rights of prostitutes, considers it important that the Supreme Court uphold the prior judgment, so as to ensure the safety of sex workers.

Stella chief Emilie Laliberté was disappointed that her group was refused intervener status at the Supreme Court but other groups that will speak, include organizations dealing with HIV-AIDS.

Laliberté hopes that the decision, which is expected to be handed down within six to nine months, will not be mixed.

“For us, it is also essential that street workers do not suffer. The Supreme Court should say, ‘yes, it is possible to work indoors but we will maintain the article and criminalize people who work on the street.’ This is not what you want, these people are already hyper-criminalized,” said Laliberté.

Other countries, like New Zealand, have already decriminalized prostitution, she notes.

“We hope that this Conservative majority government does not rewrite the laws to be much more damaging than those now in place,” said Laliberté, who estimates that there are 5,000 prostitutes in Montreal alone.

The protest Saturday was officially billed by organizers as a dance-a-thon in order to avoid violating bylaw P-6, which forces organizers to comply with a series of requirements.

“We don’t want to expose sex workers and their allies to massive fines,” she said.

-With a file from The Canadian Press