Bill C-36 Media Watchlist - you can help!

[escapefromstress]

Vancouver Pimp who ran teen prostitution ring becomes first in B.C. convicted of human trafficking Sept. 15/14

Reza Moazami was found guilty Monday on 30 of 36 charges, including one of human trafficking and multiple counts of living off the avails of prostitution with coercion, sexual assault and sexual exploitation.

Winnipeg Police chief says workers need help June 7/14

Winnipeg Escort says police ignored her Asks if she's ‘not important enough when so many women have been murdered in this city?’ Sept. 13/14

Edmonton Body rub industry to face scrutiny Aug. 11/14

The City of Calgary Ryan Jestin Director, Animal & Bylaw Services

Winnipeg Prostitution Sting 83-year-old man among four arrested in Winnipeg prostitution sting Sept. 12/14

Ottawa City urged to crack down on unlicensed massage parlours June 19/14

Abbotsford Police bust suspected brothel in residential area June 27/14 & Abbotsford police recommend common bawdy-house charge

 

[escapefromstress]

Black Press is starting to clamp down on who is allowed to advertise what kind of business in their publications.

The link above is to a list of papers they own in BC, AB, and the USA, and they also own Bcclassified.com.

They are a very religious, conservative group.

 

[escapefromstress]

Consistent with her position on C-36, Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party, has just introduced to the House of Commons motions which would in effect get rid of the Bill as a whole:

http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublicati...&Ses=2&File=12

Anyone interested in following the progress of the Bill, can track it here:

http://www.parl.gc.ca/LEGISInfo/Bill...billId=6635303

 

[escapefromstress]

Hamilton SIU to investigate Hamilton cop who preyed on sex workers Sept. 15/14

Ottawa Ottawa mayor candidate Darren Wood: legalize bordellos, tax sex workers Sept. 11/14


***This thread is now running on 8 boards - so it takes about a half hour to post new items on all the forums, reaching a potential reading audience of hundreds of thousands from coast to coast!

 

[escapefromstress]

Sex workers in Canada: 17 interesting facts from a new report

http://www.straight.com/blogra/73357...cts-new-report

by STEPHEN HUI on SEP 19, 2014 at 4:17 PM

Researchers have released what’s being called the first national report on the sex industry in Canada—and some of its findings may surprise you.

The working paper, whose lead author is Cecilia Benoit of the University of Victoria, will be discussed at an international symposium in Ottawa on September 22 and 23. It’s based on five studies undertaken in St. John’s, Montréal, Kitchener, Fort McMurray, Calgary, and Victoria.

“Based on our study, many of the people linked to Canada’s sex industry—workers and their intimate partners, managers and clients—have much in common with other Canadians. By and large, they are Canadian-born, Caucasian, in their 30s or 40s with a high school diploma and some form of post-secondary education or training,” the report states.

Here’s 17 interesting findings from the paper. All figures correspond to study participants only.

• The median income is $39,500 for sex workers, $42,000 for managers, and $60,000 for sex buyers.

• The average age of sex workers’ first sale was 26 years old, and the median age of sex buyers’ first purchase was 25 years old.

• 29 percent of sex workers first sold a sexual service before the age of 19.

• The average sex worker has 10 years of experience, and the average sex buyer has 16 years of experience.

• 89 percent of sex workers were born in Canada.

• 29 percent of sex workers spent some of their childhood in foster care or another form of government care.

• 67 percent of sex workers finished high school, and 15 percent have a bachelor’s degree or more.

• 77 percent of sex workers identify as women, 17 percent as men, and 6 percent as other genders.

• 66 percent of sex workers report a different gender presentation on the job than in their personal lives. (“Most reported they are more feminine in their work lives.”)

• 45 percent of sex workers identify as straight, 38 percent as bisexual or bi-curious, 6 percent as gay or lesbian, and 11 percent as other sexual orientations.

• Sex buyers purchase a sexual service a median of four times a year.

• 65 percent of sex buyers used in-call services in the past year, 55 percent visited massage parlours, 39 percent used out-call services, while only 17 percent bought sex on the street.

• 20 percent of sex workers rated their job as very or extremely stressful; in contrast, 43 percent of sex workers ranked their personal lives as very or extremely stressful.

• 97 percent of sex workers have been tested for HIV/AIDs, compared to 68 percent of sex buyers.

• 69 percent of sex workers reported using a condom every time they had sex with a client in the last month.

• 15 percent of sex workers had at least one sex-work-related injury, but only 1 percent of injured sex workers had submitted a sex-work-related claim to the Workers Compensation Board.

• 99 percent of sex buyers are in favour of legalizing prostitution.

Follow Stephen Hui on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

 

[escapefromstress]

Tories prepare to fast-track prostitution bill through Parliament

One of Parliament’s most high-profile bills appears set to become law without major changes – as one senator says the committee considering Bill C-36, aimed at reining in the sex trade, is “highly unlikely” to call for changes.

The approval of the bill by the Conservative-dominated Senate committee would be a strong signal it will ultimately become law in its current form, despite being broadly criticized, in particular for provisions that could lead a sex worker to be criminally charged. Many lawyers have also warned the bill is likely unconstitutional and could end up being struck down.

The Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee was urged to make certain changes as even supporters of the bill said it should not criminalize sex workers. However, the Conservative government has argued that the bill needs to be passed quickly and that it balances protecting sex workers with discouraging their trade. Asked last week whether the committee would call for any changes to the bill, Conservative Senator and committee member Linda Frum replied simply: “It’s highly unlikely.”

The committee has been conducting a “pre-study” of Bill C-36 this month, part of a bid to ensure it moves quickly through the Senate once formally passed by the House of Commons. The bill was tabled after the Supreme Court, in its Bedford decision, struck down existing prostitution laws, in part because they were found to violate the Charter rights of sex workers.

During her own appearance before the Senate committee earlier this month, Terri-Jean Bedford threatened senators that she would disclose a list of politicians who buy sex if the bill is passed in its current form. She later ran afoul of committee rules by speaking out of turn, was escorted out of the Senate meeting and ultimately apologized.

The new law largely criminalizes the buyers of sex – rather than the sellers – but will nonetheless have an impact on sex workers. It includes broad restrictions on advertising – sex workers are allowed to place ads but it will be illegal for companies to knowingly run them – a change expected to put a chill on both newspapers and websites.

The law also includes a provision making it illegal to discuss a transaction near a school, playground or daycare – a law that would apply to sex workers and clients alike. That was the provision most frequently criticized by witnesses during committee hearings. The government has already softened this provision through an amendment made by a House of Commons committee.

Justice Minister Peter MacKay, who is spearheading the bill for the Conservative government, told The Globe and Mail last week that he had not heard from the Senate about any changes. “I have not heard any indication of forthcoming amendments. I have been following it, and following the proceedings. Of course, they’re still sitting, they still have opportunities to examine the bill. We’ll await that decision,” he said.

Government House Leader Peter Van Loan has pledged to pass Bill C-36 by December, to meet the court’s deadline and ensure Canada doesn’t go without laws on prostitution. The government has repeatedly insisted the law is constitutional, but also said it is designed to limit and rein in the sex trade as much as possible.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...gh-profile-prostitution-bill/article20716890/

 

[escapefromstress]

According to Françoise Boivin, from the NDP, the next steps for C-36 are few hours of debate on Friday for the 3rd reading, and then final vote at the Hoc next week:

#C36 Vote étape du rapport. Ne restera que quelques hrs de débat en 3ième lecture vendredi et vote la semaine prochaine. #polcan #Bedford
https://twitter.com/FBoivinNPD/statu...18774603759616

A motion, at the Report Stage, to delete the Bill was just defeated by the Cons.

https://twitter.com/Mercedes_Allen/s...19738727055360

 

[escapefromstress]

Third reading of Bill C-36 today.

http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublicat...Pub=projected&Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=41&Ses=2

 

[escapefromstress]

Former dominatrix seeks input on ‘outing’ threat - with video

Terri-Jean Bedford has sent a letter to sex workers across Canada for input on her idea to expose politicians who’ve had hookers.

By: Donovan Vincent News reporter, Published on Thu Oct 02 2014

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/10/02/former_dominatrix_seeks_input_on_outing_threat.html

When asked how many sex workers had responded, and what kind of feedback they’re giving her, Bedford said in an email to the Star Thursday: “I don’t want to say any more about that. I want to take a couple of weeks and go over the responses and other discussion results with my advisors.”

There's an active poll where you can vote in the middle of the article.

Polls
Should sex workers go public with their politician-client lists?

Yes 78.77% (731 votes)

No 16.06% (149 votes)

Undecided 5.17% (48 votes)

Total Votes: 928

 

[escapefromstress]

Report from Third Reading of Bill C-36

http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublicati...guage=E&Mode=1


As Canadians, we are privileged to have access to the minutes of these meetings.

 

[escapefromstress]

Bill C-36 passes third reading in the House by a vote of 156 to 124.

Next step: the Senate

Projected Order of Business

Monday, October 6, 2014

http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublicat...Pub=projected&Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=41&Ses=2

6:30 p.m.

DEFERRED RECORDED DIVISIONS

Government Bills (Commons)

C-36 — The Minister of Justice — Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act — Third reading

Recorded division — deferred until the ordinary hour of daily adjournment, pursuant to Standing Order 45.

Length of bells — 15 minutes maximum.

 

[escapefromstress]

Results of vote: http://openparliament.ca/votes/41-2/249/

Once bill has been read 3 times in the House, it is sent to the Senate for its consideration.

Royal Assent

• Bill is presented to the Governor General for assent.
  
• The Governor General may assent to Bill in the Queen's name, withhold assent or reserve assent.
  
• When Bill is given Royal Assent it becomes law.
  

In Force
Statute is in force:

• upon Royal Assent, or
• when it is proclaimed by the Governor General, or
• on a day specified in the act
• Different sections may come into force at different times

http://library.queensu.ca/gov/bills_federal
​

 

[escapefromstress]

Canadian Police Focus on Women Coerced Into Sex Trade

Oct 07, 2014 13:15 ET

Last week, police services across Canada participated in a two-day blitz focusing on the growing concern that women are being forced to participate in the sex trade.

Operation Northern Spotlight II involved 26 police services on October 1 and 2, 2014 and was centered around hotels and motels on major thoroughfares in 28 cities and towns across the country. A total of 167 police officers and support staff took part and 257 people were interviewed including a 12-year-old girl in Winnipeg.

Police found some were being forced to perform sexual acts, multiple times a day, for paying male customers. Nine people were arrested across Canada and face charges including: Exercise Control, Make Child Pornography, Distribute Child Pornography, Forcible Confinement, Trafficking in Persons, Material Benefit, Withhold or Destroy Documents, Living off the Avails of Prostitution, Assault, Procuring, Utter Threats, Obstruct Police and Breach of Recognizance and Probation.

In Durham Region, officers interviewed 31 sex trade workers, with an average age of 26, and investigators believe nine were under some level of control. These 31 people represent the highest total for any police service during Operation Northern Spotlight II.

Although the Criminal Code section refers to this activity as Human Trafficking, the public may better understand this issue as sex slavery. Although many of the women appear to be making their own decisions to participate for financial gain, investigators found several teenagers and young women were being forced to perform through threats of violence, physical intimidation, drug dependency and other forms of coercion. Part or all of the proceeds from the sexual encounters were kept by their adult male controller or pimp.

Police Services will continue to monitor any incidents of forced participation in hopes of assisting any woman involved in the sex trade business against her will.

The following police services participated in this phase of Operation Northern Spotlight:
Barrie Police Service; Brantford Police Service; Durham Regional Police; Halton Regional Police; Hamilton Police Service; Kingston Police Service; RCMP Kitchener; London Police Service; Peel Regional Police Service; Peterborough-Lakefield Community Police Service; Port Hope Police Service; Toronto Police Service; Waterloo Regional Police Service; Windsor Police Service; OPP; Calgary Police Service; Edmonton Police Service; Lethbridge Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team [ALERT]; Regina Police Service; Saskatoon Police Service; Winnipeg Police Service; RCMP Exploited Persons Pro-active Strategy (EPPS); Gatineau Police; Ville de Quebec Police; Halifax Regional Police and RCMP Halifax.

If you have information about any person being coerced into the sex trade, please contact your local police service.

Read more here: http://www.drps.ca/internet_explore...ated_With=Top_Story&Scope=&Scope_ID=&ID=28758

 

[escapefromstress]

http://blog.terrijeanbedford.com/201...-36-opponents/

All Bill C-36 Opponents
Posted on 2014/10/04
October 5, 2014

To All Opponents of Bill C-36

I am the Bedford in Bedford Versus Canada, the case that overturned Canada’s prostitution laws. I am writing to you today to update you about part of what is being done to oppose Bill C-36, which is the new law before Parliament to replace the laws struck down.

This law, like the old laws, will fail to be enforced much. This law will eventually be deemed unconstitutional. This law will cause a major loss of credibility for those who supported it. What is being done to oppose the law is being done and I want to tell you about part of that and what you can do.

I wrote to Premier Wynne of Ontario. I asked her to refer the law to Ontario’s highest court, if and when it becomes law, to see if it is constitutional. In the interim I asked her to publicly state she would do this. I also asked her to instruct her crown attorneys not to enforce the law. All this is within her power. She has a majority government.

She spoke about my letter at a press conference and said her main concern is safety. I have been in touch with her since, but our correspondence is confidential. I am writing to ask all activists to state in any way to Premier Wynne, and indeed to all premiers, the consequences of remaining silent and doing nothing.

The consequences of this new law will likely include more missing and murdered women, sex workers forced out from safe locations and into the streets, the increased presence of organized crime in the sex trade and widespread entrapment as a way of enforcing the new laws.

Please put the focus of the debate on Premier Wynne. She has a choice. She can speak up and act, or let Mr. Harper impose his will on her. Help her and the other premiers decide. Write to them. Premier Wynne’s e-mail is [email protected]. Tell the media the premiers have a choice. Demonstrate if necessary. Your efforts matter.

Yours truly,

(Signed in the original)

Terri-Jean Bedford
terrijeanbedford @ gmail.com

 

[escapefromstress]

North Preston's Finest gang funnels girls to Ontario for prostitution

Police in Ontario say the gang known as North Preston's Finest is actively recruiting girls and women from the Maritimes, forcing them into a life of prostitution in cities across Canada. The notorious gang, with roots in the small Nova Scotia community of North Preston, northeast of Halifax, was first identified by police in Toronto in the early 1990s.

Det. Thai Truong of York Regional Police, north of Toronto, said it's common to run into pimps who say they're from North Preston or have ties to North Preston, and women who've been moved from the Maritimes to regions around Toronto.

"We're seeing a lot of girls, and we have seen a lot of victims that are from the East Coast and the pimps that are controlling them are from the East Coast," Truong said. The women are recruited in the Maritimes and then quickly moved, he said. "Once the girls are recruited, the Scotian or the pimp is generally, or typically, not going to be pimping her out from where she's from," Truong said.

"He's going to be taking her out of her own jurisdiction, out of her comfort zone, where her family is, her friends are. Any social supports she may have. He's going to move her west and essentially they find their way... a lot of the time in Ontario and" the Greater Toronto Area, he said.

The detective said that makes it especially difficult for police in Nova Scotia and other Maritime provinces to address the problem.
"Their hands are sort of tied," he said, because while the women and girls are recruited in the Maritimes, they are being moved and the offences are compounding in other jurisdictions.

Gina, whose real name CBC News agreed to withhold for her safety, said she was lured into prostitution by a member of North Preston's Finest when she was 15 years old. She was living on the streets of Toronto when, she said, a man from North Preston offered her a better life. "He painted me a picture of what I can have, like freedom of money and financial freedom and I would have everything I needed and wanted," she said. "And it all sounded really good to me because that's why I came to Toronto, because I wanted to succeed in doing something."

For the next six years, Gina said, she was frequently beaten and forced to sell her body for sex. "First, they treat you nice and everything, but then it happens with just a slap in the face," she said. "A simple slap in the face, to using objects, to dragging you and degrading you and saying 'get naked, you stink.' Mental abuse, physical abuse, verbal abuse, lots of different types of abuses happen, but it starts small and it escalates."

She said she was just one in what she calls a "stable" of women. "It was normal. I even brought women home myself. If he couldn't get them, I would bring them home or get their numbers, either way. Yeah, I was totally involved in him bringing women home." Gina said she eventually managed to leave her pimp, but only after paying a $15,000 "leaving fee."

Truong said police don't know for sure how many people are involved with North Preston's Finest. He said it's one of a number of groups trafficking women in the Toronto area and across the country. He said prostitution is a lucrative business and pimps can make more money from trafficking women than selling cocaine or guns.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-s...lice-1.2791599

 

[escapefromstress]

Sex-trade workers lured by big money in Alberta: police

EDMONTON - Just like everyone else, sex-trade workers are travelling across the country to earn big money in Alberta.

All but one of 16 prostitutes interviewed by Edmonton police recently as part of a human-trafficking investigation had arrived from outside Alberta, mostly from Toronto and Montreal. “There is a pattern where women are coming to an oil-rich province chasing the money, and we are seeing more and more of that,” Det. David Schening, with the Edmonton police’s vice unit, said Tuesday.

Participating in a nationwide undercover probe called Operation Northern Spotlight, Edmonton detectives contacted sex-trade workers by responding to advertisements on the Internet and then offered intervention and exit strategies instead of arresting them. A secondary goal was determining if they were being forced to work for somebody else.

“The objective is not just enforcement; first and foremost, it is the safety of these women, and then trying to see if we can identify their handlers,” Schening said. “No one acknowledged that was happening, but I saw a lot of reluctance and guarded answers. “I believe there is an underlying reason why they are here.”

None of the sex-trade workers in Edmonton contacted as part of the investigation was underage, although police elsewhere found minors had been threatened with violence, extortion and drug dependency, among other forms of coercion. The youngest, a 12-year-old girl, was taken into protective custody in Winnipeg.

More than 300 women were interviewed by police from 26 departments nationwide, with nine arrests and 33 charges laid, including forcible confinement, making and distributing child pornography, assault and trafficking in persons.

Launched in January, the operation focused on hotels and motels along thoroughfares in 30 cities and towns, Edmonton and Calgary included. A two-day hotel sting was carried out in Edmonton on Oct. 1-2.

“These are somebody’s daughters and family members who are coming here to engage in a dangerous business,” Schening said. “As a father and a grandfather, there is nothing I would like less than to find them as a victim at a crime scene.”

Schening said detectives tried to leave the sex-trade workers with the understanding that they could reach out to police any time they needed help. “I think they are making a circuit, going from city to city,” he said. “They was no shortage of women responding to our calls.”

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/trade+workers+lured+money+Alberta+police/10271342/story.html

 

[Sol Tee Nutz]

Just my opinion, Pffffft. Nothing will change in my hobby habit, see no sense in losing sleep until I get charged and do not think that will happen. If I was picking up street walkers or the Asain places I would be more concerned but with the way it is in Montreal all should be good.
Again, this is just my opinion......

 

[hungry101]

Just my opinion, Pffffft. Nothing will change in my hobby habit, see no sense in losing sleep until I get charged and do not think that will happen. If I was picking up street walkers or the Asain places I would be more concerned but with the way it is in Montreal all should be good.
Again, this is just my opinion......

God I hope you are correct. Who knows what some zealot is going to try to gain fame after this law is passed? We will have to wait and see.

 

[EagerBeaver]

That sounds to me like a total waste of Canadian taxpayer money. They have no evidence of any girls being trafficked and are trying to find some. What the article does not mention, Reverdy, is that every girl they meet who denies being trafficked (which they are assuming is a lie with no proof), that meeting was paid for with tax dollars and a large investment of LE time that could have been spent investigating actual crimes. Sounds very witch-hunty to me. I would be appalled if I were a Canadian taxpayer.

 

[Siocnarf]

Can travelling workers actually get municipal licenses? It's just ridiculous how authorities are pussyfooting around that business, making it apparently illegal, but still regulating it with legal rules and licenses. Of course that's something they can't say to newspaper: ''we were checking them for municipal license'' they have to give some excuses that will fit the official narrative.