(Response to question raised by Hon. Mobina S. B. Jaffer on November 14, 2007)
The Government views prostitution as degrading and dehumanizing, often committed and controlled by coercive individuals against those who are frequently powerless to protect themselves from abuse and exploitation. This Government condemns any conduct that results in exploitation or abuse and does not support any reform, such as decriminalization, that would facilitate such exploitation.
The Government therefore opposes the repeal of the Criminal Code prostitution provisions, which prohibit keeping, being an inmate of, or transporting other persons to a common bawdy-house or brothel; procuring or living on the avails of prostitution; and, communicating in a public place for the purpose of engaging in prostitution. The Federal Government is, in fact, vigorously defending against court challenges to the constitutionality of these provisions in British Columbia and Ontario.