Bill C-36: Prostitution Tag

24 Jul 2015 Highs and Lows of the 41st Canadian Parliament

On June 18th, the House of Commons adjourned, setting the stage for an election campaign that will end the 41st session of Parliament. This is an appropriate time to look back on the past four years and see what was accomplished, especially through the lens of ARPA Canada and the issues that we focus on. Pre-born Human Rights: When the Conservatives were handed a majority in the last federal election, many Christians hoped that pre-born human rights would finally be addressed. These hopes were in vain. Although some courageous MPs stood up for the pre-born, the leadership of all the political parties in the House of Commons did their utmost to suppress these efforts.   Motion 312, championed by MP Stephen Woodworth, was the first motion that held promise. It asked that “a special committee of the House of Commons be appointed and directed to review the declaration in Subsection 223(1) of the Criminal Code of Canada which states that a child becomes a human being only at the moment of complete birth.” Local ARPA chapters hosted presentations by Mr. Woodworth on this motion and many ARPA supporters encouraged MPs to support it. But with the party leaders all vocally opposed, the motion died in the House by a vote of 203 to 91. Yet Motion 312 reignited a discussion that was quiet for too long. Momentum for addressing this injustice was building.
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05 Nov 2014 Bill C-36 passes 3rd reading in the Senate

With thankfulness to God, we are pleased to announce that Bill C-36, Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act, has passed third reading in the Senate and now only requires royal assent to become law. You helped table this law - thank you! As we have communicated before, we have been supportive of it since it was released last spring and are thankful it has come this far. The bill needs only to receive royal assent, after which it will become law - in time for the December 19th deadline provided by the...

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25 Sep 2014 Applauding New Prostitution Legislation

Mark Penninga, Interior News, Sept 23, 2014: On September 15th, BC saw its first ever conviction of human trafficking under Canada's Criminal Code. A 29 year-old man from Vancouver forced 11 teens, as young as 14, into prostitution. But this sure wasn't the first time someone was trafficked in BC. The US Department of State estimates that there are between 1500 and 2200 people trafficked through Canada to the US each year, and that doesn't include the trafficking that stays in Canada. For those who think that this is a problem for bigger centres like Vancouver and Toronto but not in places like Smithers and Hazelton, think again. Public Safety Canada's report on the issue reveals that it is Aboriginal women, youth, and children who are among the most likely victims in Canada. The leading cause of human trafficking in our nation is for the purpose of sexual exploitation, usually through prostitution. Our Supreme Court struck down Canada's prostitution law last year and gave Parliament one year to come up with a new one. The new legislation, Bill C-36, is excellent and worthy of our full support. For the first time in Canadian history, it makes the purchasing of sexual services a crime.
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14 Jul 2014 Prostitution and the Media Silence

The Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights has been listening to witnesses this week (July 7-11, 2014) as it relates to Bill C-36, Protection of Communities and Exploited Person’s Act. The media has been reporting on the hearings, but the coverage has not been all that balanced. Just as we saw with the Bedford v. Canada court case where only Ms. Bedford and other privileged prostitutes had their voice heard in court, it seems the media wants to undermine the voices of those who worked in the industry but...

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02 Jul 2014 Report Card: Assessing Canada’s Conservative Government

The following article, "Report Card: Assessing Canada's Conservative Government on 10 Key Issues" was originally published in the Reformed Perspective magazine. It has been updated and included here as a reference item for our readers. You can download a PDF of the updated version, linked at the bottom of the text if you wish to print a copy. By Mark Penninga (Updated July, 2014) In a June 2011 article for Reformed Perspective I detailed 10 realistic goals that could be accomplished for our nation under this Conservative government if our leaders have the courage to lead and if citizens give them the encouragement and accountability to do so. Now that we are about halfway through this government’s mandate, how are we faring on these issues? 1. Give Aboriginals the responsibility and hope that belongs to all Canadians Grade: B+ Not long after ARPA published a policy report on this issue in 2012, we were very encouraged to see the federal government announce a number of bills and policies to increase accountability, equality, and opportunity for Canada's Aboriginal peoples. In June 2013, the First Nations Financial Transparency Act became law. Aboriginal MP Rob Clarke has also introduced a private member's bill C-428 entitled the Indian Act Amendment and Replacement Act. And the government has also taken steps towards allowing private property ownership on reserves and increasing parental responsibility in education. As encouraging as these changes are, they are small steps in light of the enormity of the problem. And given that the issue crosses into provincial responsibility, much more can also be done in having the provinces and federal government work towards a common vision. 2. Reform the Canadian Human Rights Commission Grade: C- In light of all the opposition from all sides of the political spectrum to problematic sections of the Canadian Human Rights Act, it is striking that it took a private member's bill (Brian Storseth's C-304) to finally abolish Section 13 in the summer of 2013. This was a huge victory, but the current government can't take much credit for it, apart from not actively opposing it. Much more can be done to reform or even abolish the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
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05 Jun 2014 Prostitution law tabled, and you helped shape it!

*Update: the mainstream media is sharing many of the talking points we use on this issue as well. Check out excellent commentary from Calgary Herald, National Post, Globe & Mail, and The Catholic Register. As many ARPA readers know, the issue of prostitution has been a big one on our policy plate for the past few years. In the fall of 2011, ARPA Canada published its first Respectfully Submitted report on this issue, calling on the federal government to give serious consideration to rewriting our laws on prostitution to pre-empt the Supreme Court from striking down our current laws. The government did not act at that time, and the Supreme Court, in December 2013, did strike down our prostitution laws as we predicted. Thankfully, the Court gave Parliament one year to draft new laws. Today, they tabled the draft law titled, the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act. The preamble sets the tone of the document and is quite impressive. It's worth reproducing here. Note how it doesn't shy away from the public harm that prostitution is and how the commercialization of prostitution is so detrimental:
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