Its been a while but need to comment about this story.... I saw this very sad news last Friday morning and was immediately struck as it took place in a hotel less than a KM from where I grew up. As I read more about this horrible murder, I was shocked and disgusted for many of the reasons already discussed here. I've been following the various threads here and on FB and on local media (especially the Quebec City press) to see in part how this story is treated. Except for groups like Stella and sex worker activists, most of the focus has been on the total fck up at the Canadian Parole board and the halfway house to allow this sick person near any human beings.
While this is an important part of the story, a more important part is that the murder of Marylène Lévesque was PREVENTABLE! Why? This sick person had been banned from the MP parlour where Marylène worked because he was violent with another provider. If someone was violent in a place of business with anyone, what should they do? CALL THE POLICE!! This person would have been immediately picked up and sent back to jail. End of story.
Unfortunately, thanks to Bill C-36 (as pointed out by Sandra Wesley of Stella), the MP parlour would never consider calling the police since this is an illegal activity. As a result, Marylène is dead.
She was from the Saguenay region, couple of hours north of Quebec City, and went back regularly to see her boyfriend. The Quebec City press has provided many sordid details on what took place here - based in large part on interviews with her roommate and the police. My first question was why Marylène even went to see this person. Turns out tha he was a regular client for her at the MP and had bought her many gifts (sound like a familiar pattern?). He had discussed his children and even his murdered wife with her, seemingly making sure she would be comfortable with him. After being banned, this was the second time he met her at the hotel. The first time he paid her 1300$, and the second time he promised 2,000$.
According to police reports, Marylène was stabbed with a knife several times and she did fight back. She had a deep wound to her abdomen that probably did her in. I get the difference between first and second degree murder, but if you go to meet an MP with a knife capable of inflicting these types of wounds, you have to wonder if there wasn't some level of premeditation.
While the parole board is responsible for this and someone should pay for such a dumbass mistake resulting in a loss of life, the bigger story is how vulnerable she and all sex workers are. The Supreme Court ruling overturning the prostitution laws in Canada was made by the smartest lawyers in our country with the goal of protecting people like Marylene. Unfortunately, the dumbest lawyers in Canada constituting the governing party of Canada in 2014 decided to circumvent the Supreme court ruling and make sure that sex workers continue to be at risk. This murder is a direct result of Bill C-36!
Finally, the local media that I've listened to have done a poor job in reporting and discussing their opinions on this story. Its dead obvious that the parole board screwed up and everyone is indignant that we didn't throw the keys away on this guy. A grade 10 student could write that story. But what about this poor girl who's death was preventable if this person had been locked up after beating on an MP? The media doesn't want to touch the sex worker aspect of this. I heard 2 radio shows where this line of discussion was shut down. Its shameful. The government isn't doing their job, nor is the mainstream media. Only Stella and a few activists are raising the alarm. For mainstream media, this is just another blood and guts story to splash all over their front page and drive some more advertising revenue
PS to EB: In the 70s, the hotel was a cheap motel and it bordered on trackyards down the hill its on. About 20 years ago, it was renovated "a la Chablis". I've never been in it, but this was not an area to invest a lot of money in a high-end hotel.
