Articles

The Hon. Marco Mendicino Minister of Public Safety 269 Laurier Avenue West Ottawa, Ontario   K1A 0P8 Dear Minister Mendicino, We are writing to urge you to allow prostitution-related convictions incurred prior to enactment of the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act to be expunged from the criminal records of prostituted persons. This would be a step towards removing stigma and barriers for those who have been in situations of exploitation and towards ad

The EFC made a three-page submission to the Standing Committee on the Status of Women for its study on Human Trafficking of Women, Girls and Gender Diverse People. The EFC brief shared statistics on trafficking and discussed the connection between prostitution and sex trafficking. It recommended the government develop a permanent national strategy to combat trafficking, among other policy recommendations. Download it here.

The Hon. David Lametti Minister of Justice and Attorney General 284 Wellington Street Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H8 Dear Minister Lametti, The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (the EFC) applauds the federal government’s defence of the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (PCEPA) before the Ontario Superior Court in CASWLR v. Canada this fall. The EFC supports PCEPA as an essential tool in the fight against sexual exploitation. We fully agree with the objectives

This important case in Ontario Superior Court upheld Canada's prostitution law Sept. 18, 2023. The EFC released a statement celebrating this decision and also signed onto a joint statement from a national working group of survivors of prostitution, service providers and advocates. The EFC intervened in the case in Oct. 2022 since it was a constitutional challenge to Canada’s laws on prostitution. The challenge was launched by the Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform. Int

Canada’s prostitution laws were reviewed by a parliamentary committee in early 2022, with a report published in late June. See the EFC's response released in July 2022, and also see below for materials related to the anticipated Oct. 2022 CASWLR court case. The Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (PCEPA) recognizes that prostitution is inherently exploitive and dangerous. It has the goal of ending the demand for paid sex. Under PCEPA, buying sex and pimping ar

n this six-page brief, the EFC recommends that the current law (PCEPA) be upheld and enforced; that the government initiate public awareness campaigns and education; and more. Click to download the pdf.

Bill C-219 is a private member’s bill that would increase the penalty for sexual exploitation of a young person in a relationship of dependency or a person with a disability. It would also amend the Criminal Code to consider it an aggravating circumstance at sentencing if a victim of sexual exploitation had a mental or physical disability. Bill C-219 was introduced by MP John Nater on February 25, 2020. It was reintroduced in 2021 and made it to second reading in April. It wa

Case Summary In September 2010, Justice Susan Himel of the Ontario Superior Court effectively struck down the Criminal Code provisions dealing with living on the avails (proceeds) of prostitution, keeping a common bawdy house (brothel), and communicating for the purposes of prostitution in the case of Bedford v. Attorney-General of Canada. That decision was appealed to the Ontario Court of Appeal where five judges heard the appeal and decided: 1. The federal government had tw