Legal Feeds Blog

Wednesday, 25 April 2012 16:34

Feds to appeal ruling legalizing brothels

The federal government will seek to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada an Ontario ruling that effectively legalized brothels across the country, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said on Wednesday.

In Canada (Attorney General) v. Bedford, the Ontario Court of Appeal last month struck down a section of the Criminal Code that bars brothels, saying that forcing sex workers to stay on the street made it hard for them to take safety precautions.

The judges also upheld a section of the code that restricts street prostitution. Accepting money in return for sex is not illegal in Canada, but most related activities are. The safety of sex workers played a large part in the appeal court’s decision.

“The state response is out of all proportion to the state objectives,” the judges wrote. “While the provision is ostensibly aimed at protecting prostitutes from harm, it prevents them from taking measures that could reduce harm and at worst drives them into the hands of the very predators that the law intends to guard against.”

The federal Conservatives say the Criminal Code sections in question are sound. The Supreme Court of Canada will now have to decide whether to hear the appeal.

Nicholson told the House of Commons that Ottawa felt a “binding, national decision” was needed on the constitutionality of the laws on brothels and living on the avails of prostitution.

“Prostitution is harmful for society as it exploits Canada’s most vulnerable people, especially women,” he said.

Nicholson was reacting to a question in the House from Conservative MP Roxanne James, who said she was “absolutely horrified and saddened” by the Ontario ruling.

“Canadians . . . right across our great country are very concerned about this ruling and the impact it will have on women, families and our communities,” she told legislators.

The safety of sex workers has become a high-profile social issue in Canada since the trial and 2007 conviction of serial killer Robert Pickton, who preyed on prostitutes in Vancouver.

If the Ontario court’s decision stands, Ottawa may have to find new ways to regulate prostitution, perhaps by accepting legalized brothels of the sort found in Nevada.

Quebec Crowns launch complaint against province

The Quebec government is under fire from lawyers’ groups after refusing to sign a tentative deal reached last summer with government lawyers in the province.

The Association des Juristes de l’État has launched a bad-faith bargaining complaint against the province. (Photo: abdallahh/Flickr)

The 825-member Association des Juristes de l’État, which represents Quebec government lawyers and notaries who draft laws and defend them in court, has launched a bad-faith bargaining complaint against the province at Quebec’s labour relations commission. They claim the government has reneged on a clause in the agreement that promised to put the civil lawyers’ pay on par with criminal prosecutors.

the AJE is a member, accused the government of “holding the entire negotiated settlement hostage and threatening to return this part of the administration of justice in Quebec to the state of crisis that existed prior to the settlement.”

“Sadly, it would appear that the Quebec government has returned to its practice of negotiating in bad faith,” Chaffe said in a statement.

Louis Masson, the president of the Barreau du Quebec, also backed the AJE, urging the government to stop underfunding the justice system and calling the civil lawyers “essential to the proper functioning of our democratic society.”

The civil lawyers and prosecutors both went out on strike in early 2011 before controversial legislation sent them back to work two weeks later. In July 2011, the AJE and the government agreed a settlement that included a parity clause that would match civil lawyer compensation to their criminal prosecutor counterparts.

When the prosecutors reached their own deal in September 2011, the AJE claimed eight changes to their agreement based on the parity clause, which, according to Le Devoir could cost the government up to $10 million.

But the government has refused to sign the deal unless the AJE accepts its narrower interpretation of the parity clause. In a vote last week, two-thirds of the AJE’s members rejected the government proposal, paving the way for the labour commission complaint.

Another strike is out of the question, since the AJE members are still bound by the controversial back-to-work legislation enacted last year.

“Front-line government lawyers are the institutional safeguard that ensures that your provincial government acts lawfully. They play an essential constitutional role, often behind closed doors, speaking truth to power. They have the support of the CACC and they deserve the support of the public,” Chaffe said.