A court ruling has (for now at least) unloaded some of the contradictions in this country’s prostitution laws. It goes without saying that, typically governments respond in two ways when it comes to civil liberties, criminalize it or subsidize it. This court decision seems to have been heavily influenced by the premise that women are victimized by the lack of protections resulting from prostitution laws, and not (big surprise) a woman’s right to ownership over her own person, or the right of consenting adults to mutually agreed upon exchange. We can expect this to pave the way towards bringing sex workers into the "social services" fold of the welfare state with their own set of subsidized entitlements. We can also expect the trade to be heavily taxed and regulated, with a cartel of institutional brothels. With the state assuming the role of the pimp, Canada will be served up as yet another failed experiment in "legalized prostitution".
Despite all this, for anyone who believes in individual liberty, there is something hopeful in a court ruling of this scale, one that could (but not likely *will*) weaken and slow the momentum of a major campaign of persecution in this country against people who choose to live their lives in an unconventional but non-violent manner.
Update
A friend recently mused about the impact this ruling has for those currently collecting Unemployment Insurance. After all, as we know Eligibility is contingent on being "ready, willing and able" to accept any legitimate form of employment. With brothels, pimps and solicitation now being legal, will the EI eligibility criteria be re-assessed? Time will tell.
