New Democrats welcome constitutional challenge for sex work reform

Today, NDP Justice Critic Randall Garrison made the following statement:

“New Democrats welcome this court challenge and stand in solidarity with The Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform and the individual applicants.

NDP MPs continue to call on this government to fulfill the requirement from the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act to complete a full legislative review five years after the law was passed.

Unfortunately, there has been no action and instead advocates have had to start a court challenge to force the government to act. Due to government’s inaction, sex workers have spent the last five years in a precarious position where they remain stigmatized and vulnerable to violence.

If the Liberal government had started the review as called for in the original legislation and in my motion tabled last March we would be well along the way to decriminalizing sex work as the Charter requires.

We have a responsibility to act, as legislators in the House, to make this a better and safer Canada for all workers, including sex workers and the failure to act is putting people’s lives at risk.”