In a unanimous decision released in July, the Supreme Court upheld two sections of Canada’s current prostitution laws, the
Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (PCEPA).
The case of
Kloubakov v. Canada involved two men who worked for an escort agency in Alberta run by convicted traffickers. The duo worked as drivers but also collected money the women earned and transferred it to the agency owners. They were convicted of procuring women into prostitution and benefitting materially from the prostitution of others.
“This case illustrates really well how prostitution is a system of exploitation and how it's nearly impossible to prevent abuse and coercion within that system,” says Julia Beazley, director of public policy at the EFC.
At issue was whether these two provisions of PCEPA were constitutional. This is the first time the Supreme Court considered the current prostitution laws, enacted in 2014.
The EFC has long advocated that such laws are essential tools to stop exploitation. The overall objective is to reduce demand for prostitution, discourage and deter entry into it, and ultimately abolish it as much as possible. This protects individuals and communities from the range of harms associated with prostitution.
“The EFC has long argued prostitution is not merely a series of interactions between purchasers and purchased that exist independently of one another,” says Beazley. “Prostitution is part of a system of exploitation based on structural inequalities that preys on vulnerabilities.”
The EFC co-intervened with the Association for Reformed Political Action (ARPA) in support of the laws, arguing the system of prostitution is inherently exploitative and that our current prostitution laws protect human dignity.
The Court’s decision is a significant finding in favour of the laws. It thoroughly analyzed and explained the objectives of the laws and how they are properly interpreted, affirming what the EFC has argued.
"Profiting from [the buying and selling] of another person’s sexual activity inherently involves exploitation," says Lia Milousis, legal counsel for the EFC and ARPA. Parliament clearly held that view when it passed these laws, and the Court decision noted that.
Milousis sees the influence of the EFC and ARPA submissions in the Court decision where it asserts that commodification (turning sex into something bought and sold) doesn’t need to involve excessive profits to be considered exploitative. The Court accepted that "the system of prostitution is inherently exploitative, in every instance,” she says.
This was the 33rd time the EFC has intervened at the Supreme Court. With your support, we were able to argue strongly in support of these laws which uphold human dignity and prevent exploitation. Thank you for making it possible.
This strong decision adds to other lower court findings in favour of the laws, including the 2022 Ontario Superior Court decision which found all the provisions of PCEPA to be constitutional. The EFC intervened in that case as well, which found that “violence is a feature, not a bug” of prostitution, and that there is “a clear link between sex work and human trafficking.”
In the 2022 decision Justice Goldstein found Parliament’s view of the sex trade is well grounded in evidence and concluded that, overall, he finds “Parliament’s response to a pressing and substantial concern is a carefully crafted legislative scheme that prohibits the most exploitive aspects of the sex trade while immunizing sex workers from prosecution.”
The Ontario lower court decision in favour of PCEPA is likely to be appealed by pro-prostitution groups. If it is, the EFC will once again seek to intervene.
Even as we welcome and celebrate this decision, please continue to pray with us for those who are vulnerable to exploitation in Canada and for good laws to be upheld.
What you can do
- Thank God for this court decision. Pray for His protection of Canadians vulnerable to sexual exploitation, for proper enforcement of good laws and for funding of support programs.
- Consider donating so we’re ready for the next legal intervention at TheEFC.ca/Donate.
- Learn more at TheEFC.ca/Prostitution.
Also in this issue:
Supporting a denominational review of mission, Francophone representation in EFC research, The why and how of an EFC Sunday in your church, A note from EFC President David Guretzki.