On Tuesday, Sept 19th our Executive Director joined Linda Ward on CBC Metro Morning to discuss Justice Goldstein’s decision in the Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform’s constitutional challenge at the Ontario Superior court. Listen to the clip or find the full transcript below. Linda Ward:
Ontario’s Superior Court upheld Canada's criminal laws on sex work ruling that they are constitutional. A coalition of sex workers and advocates argued in court that the Harper era law did not protect the health and safety of sex workers, and in fact violated the sex industry workers Charter of Rights. The Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform said they were deeply disappointed in the decision and that the fight is not over. Ellie Ade Kur is the Executive Director of Maggie's Toronto Sex Worker Action Project. She was a fact witness in this case, and is with me this morning in the studio, Ellie. Good morning.
Ellie Ade Kur:
Morning. Thank you so much.
Linda Ward:
Thank you for being here. I wonder what is it about this ruling that makes it disappointing for you?
Ellie Ade Kur:
So for myself and other members of the Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform, we've been advocating for the complete decriminalization of sex work in Canada precisely because the criminal laws currently in place that prevent sex workers from openly communicating setting boundaries with potential clients, and even accessing really vital third party networks such as security, drivers, people that can help screen clients, for example- all of these things make it much more difficult to do this work with safety and dignity and prevent sex workers from accessing key labor rights, key health and safety protections on the job.
Linda Ward:
So because these things are deemed illegal, it infringes on those protections.
Ellie Ade Kur:
Precisely, I'm also thinking about the way that this decision, but also the current the current criminal laws around sex work are framed as characterizing all sex workers as inherently exploited, inherently victims. And we saw the result of that in this decision through justice Goldstein is a very dismissive decision openly sort of criticizing fact witnesses such as myself, such as other member groups of the Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform that are providing daily services and supports to sex workers across the country 10s of 1000s a year.
Linda Ward:
But there is a balancing act, I would think, because there is a segment of the population that would be exploited, particularly young women runaways, perhaps that had been taken advantage of, and there are some people that think that they need those added protections.
Ellie Ade Kur:
People come into sex work from a variety of backgrounds. And I think it's also really important to recognize that sex worker support organizations like Maggie's Toronto offering things like street outreach, public education, direct legal support therapy, oftentimes, our organizations are actually on the frontlines of identifying and addressing some of those key labor, health and safety issues. And frankly, if we want to talk about the realities of labor exploitation in Ontario, or across Canada, we should also be thinking heavily about the food sector or the agricultural sectors as well.
Linda Ward:
The last sex work law was found to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. And this 2014 Act was the one that replaced it. So let's talk about the contradictions between the two when it comes to sex workers.
Ellie Ade Kur:
Right. So the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act, or Bill C 36, was the was the response to the Supreme Court's decision around the previous sex work laws being unconstitutional and violating the rights of sex workers across Canada. And the framing of that bill, inherently in the preamble of the bill, is to eliminate all forms of sex workers. The language they use is prostitution, which we shift that language towards sex work to think about the fact that many of us do work to exercise agency and bodily autonomy. This case with Justice Goldstein and the Superior Court in Ontario was precisely that: a fight for bodily autonomy, safety, security and equality for all sex workers.
Linda Ward:
One of the things that was highlighted as an issue was how the judge characterized sex workers in the written statement, you've already sort of addressed that. But you also felt that it was paternalistic.
Ellie Ade Kur:
Absolutely. And this is this characterization of sex workers, of sex workers support organizations, and our continued advocacy for human rights and justice for our communities is something that will have significant implications for so many other communities and these kinds of legal decisions. The fact that Justice Goldstein frames sex workers as part of our national alliance for sex work law reform, as sort of biased, lobby groups that are third parties removed from this decision and prioritizes the evidence provided by police and by courts that our organizations on the ground know in the day to day are actively working against sex workers and sources of violence against sex workers, that has massive implications for many other forms of social movement organizing.
Linda Ward:
And you've talked about that, what kind of support do you have from other social movements when it comes to this particular case?
Ellie Ade Kur:
So the sex worker rights movement across Canada and especially in Toronto with organizations like Maggie's and Butterfly: Asian and Migrant Sex Worker Support Network, TransPride Toronto, they really highlight the fact that we're not just talking about one isolated gated community of sex workers- because we're talking about black sex workers like my peice suggested. We're talking about migrant sex workers. We're talking about queer and trans sex workers that are all coming together and addressing the fact that the current criminal laws are often used to target, to racially profile, to socially profile and discriminate against sex workers in nearly every area of our social, political and economic lives.
Linda Ward:
This conversation is primarily about decriminalization. So how would that work?
Ellie Ade Kur:
So decriminalization entails the complete removal of all current laws on the books that are targeted around sex work, so the repeal of Bill C 36. And essentially, the courts would rely on the multiple other sets of laws around things like sexual violence, for example, to be able to target some of the issues that they're asserting are covered through the criminalization of sex work.
Linda Ward:
But given yesterday's ruling, what are the next steps in the legal process? Where do you go from here when it comes to decriminalization of sex work?
Ellie Ade Kur:
In any kind of decision like this, there's obviously the ability to appeal a case. And I think that's a conversation that the alliance is having, I believe we have around 30 days to make that choice and file the claim. But I also do want to highlight the fact that when we look at the 50/60 years of sex worker advocacy across Canada, our communities have constantly been told “no” by police, and “no” by courts, and “no” by lifelong prosecutors like Justice Goldstein. But the reality is that we've been organizing to provide frontline support for one another legal support for one another and build up these incredible cases such as this challenge we're working through right now. But also the incredible challenge around Bedford V. Canada that Terri Jean Amy Leibovich and Valerie Scott waged as well.
Linda Ward:
You talk about the support for sex workers and some of the work that Maggie's has done. And I wonder if this ruling, and the law gets in the way of that kind of support?
Ellie Ade Kur:
Absolutely. And it certainly makes the lives of sex workers much more difficult, because we also see and I think also indicated through many of the fact witnesses in the case, the fact that criminalizing all these areas of sex work not only prevents sex workers themselves from being able to access key labor supports key health and safety supports, as well as facing facing actual prosecution under the law from working in groups. It also creates some inflames things like stigma and discrimination against sex workers in everyday life. And so at Maggie's, when we do things like street outreach, we're talking to racialized sex workers to trans sex workers that talk about incredibly violent experiences, not just with police, not just through courts, but also with community more broadly trying to push sex workers out of the area precisely because of a lot of the legal and social logic that influences decisions like justice Goldstein,
Linda Ward:
When you talk about the stigma that surrounds sex workers, what is the one thing that you think needs to be changed in terms of the perception of the industry itself?
Ellie Ade Kur:
People need to understand that people enter sex work for many different reasons. And of course we have our own social cultural hangups in Canada and Ontario around sex, sexuality, sexual expression, but it's also really important to make sure that we don't let that overshadow the fact that sex work exists across a massive spectrum, from strip clubs massage parlors to street based sex work to online sex work, we're seeing the boom of that right now.
If this industry exists, which it does, which there are 10s of 1000s of people involved in this across Toronto alone, our communities need labor protections, we need access to health and safety protections, and whether or not people's individual value judgments on “Is sex work right?”, “Is it wrong?”, “Is it empowering?”, “Is it not?” shouldn't get in the way of our access to bodily autonomy, safety, security and equality.
Linda Ward:
I appreciate the conversation this morning, Ellie, thank you for coming in. Ellie Ade Kur: Thank you so much for covering this. Linda Ward:
Ellie Ade Kur is the Executive Director of Maggie's Toronto Sex Workers Action Project, which is a member of the Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform. She was a fact witness in the case.