Torontoist » prostitution

“Emancipation Day” for Sex Workers

Ontario's Court of Appeal rules against laws preventing bawdy houses and living off money earned from sex work.

Ontario’s top court ruled today in favour of the legalization of brothels and living off the avails of prostitution. Ontario Superior Court Justice Susan Himel ruled in September 2010 that existing prostitution laws were unjust and endangered the lives of sex-trade workers. The government appealed, arguing that the existing laws are necessary to protect sex [...]

Ontario’s Top Court Partially Strikes Down Anti-Prostitution Laws

The Star is reporting that the Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled partly in favour of activists who brought a legal challenge against Canada’s prostitution laws. The court has thrown out legislation that prevents prostitutes from working in so-called bawdy houses (in other words, indoors), and has also moved to amend a law that prevents [...]

Chester Brown’s Writing About Sex and Paying for It

In September last year, Toronto was aflutter over Justice Susan Himel's decision to strike down Canada's prostitution laws. The ruling would make it possible for sex workers to solicit customers freely on the street, work in brothels, and hire security to help manage their businesses. Though implementation of the ruling has been delayed by the appeal process, the legal implications make reading Chester Brown's new graphic novel, Paying For It: A Comic Strip Memoir About Being A John, all the more interesting.

2010 Hero: Terri-Jean Bedford, Valerie Scott, Amy Lebovitch, and Justice Susan Himel

When we call prostitution the "world's oldest profession," surely we're being facetious. Dentistry is a profession. Teaching is a profession. Prostitution is a crime, right? Well, sort of. In fact, prostitution itself has been decriminalized in Canada since the '70s, but there's a catch. Almost any activity associated with prostitution is illegal: communicating to solicit clients, living off the avails, keeping a "bawdy house" (a term that perhaps gives away the vintage of these laws—it sounds like it was coined by the Wife of Bath). In case you haven't noticed, this has all been entirely ineffective at stopping prostitution from existing. Forget about "profession," and focus on the "world's oldest" part. As in, "has existed in some capacity in just about every society everywhere ever." And that includes penguin society!

Prostitution Now Even More Legal In Ontario Than It Was Before

Until today, while prostitution itself was legal in Ontario (as it is throughout Canada), almost every step involved in the transactions around prostitution was not. It was illegal to “communicate for the purpose of prostitution,” to “live off the avails of prostitution,” and to run a “bawdy house.” Today, an Ontario Superior Court judge struck [...]

Burning Tires Retired, U of T Gets Very Own Skynet, We Still Suck In Beijing

Ontario’s Environment Minister wants the province to have a scrap-tire recycling program. Tire retailers and collectors are opposed to the idea, because they make their money selling tires to be burned as fuel. Also opposed: the National Burning Stuff Association, who stated, “If we can’t burn tires, what are they going to keep us from [...]

Homeowners Not Clearing Ice, TTC Not Playing Nice, Spitzer Is Paying Price

Plagued by complaints, the City of Toronto has finally gotten around to ticketing some homeowners who don’t clear the snow in front of their property. A city spokesperson said they prefer not to send out inspectors in the winter because it’s so difficult to get around. Anxious to cement a reputation for self-serving indifference to [...]