A little over a week ago I expanded my letter writing campaign. Since I was getting no answers from Kathleen Wynne (and neither were the dozens of other sex workers who were writing to her), I began to appeal to representatives who were more local.
Last week, I wrote 10 letters to the new Toronto City Council. That’s almost one-quarter of the entire council. Each letter was different, as each Councillor had a different approach to their community, but each Councillor I was certain were against violence against women.
I like to think those letters played a role in this story that came out yesterday:
Twenty-five Toronto city councillors have signed a letter asking Premier Kathleen Wynne to take the Feds’ Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (Bill C-36) to the Ontario Court of Appeal to determine if it is constitutional. The new legislation, which received royal assent last month, will become law on Saturday.
“As City Councillors, we work to promote measures that increase public safety and that materially improve the living conditions of marginalized residents,” it reads. “In particular, we are united in our efforts to end violence against women. To that end, we strive to identify and correct situations that, however inadvertently, create conditions that are unsafe for any woman.
Seven out of the 10 councillors I sent a letter to co-signed the plea to Wynne, including long-time ally Kristyn Wong-Tam. There were some surprises on that list of 25, including former cop Jon Burnside. That an ex-cop is taking a stand against a bill that gives police more powers to punish people for consensual adult sex sends a strong message to current cops in the Toronto Police Service that perhaps this bill is a bit grimy and sleazy.
I’m not surprised rookie Councillor Christin Carmichael Greb didn’t sign, though – her dad is Conservative MP John Carmichael who voted for C-36 along with the rest of that garbage party. Nor am I surprised Jim Karygiannis didn’t sign; he’s anti-choice when it comes to abortion, so it logically follows he believes women have the same rights to their vaginas as to their uteruses.
This letter is a milestone, for many reasons. First of all, Toronto City Council has joined Vancouver in condemning C-36, meaning two major urban centres this bill would disproportionally affect want nothing to do with it.
Second of all, this is Toronto City Council. Wynne can’t ignore 25 elected representatives the way she has been ignoring sex workers. Reporters are going to ask her to comment. Opposition parties are going to ask her to comment. She will be forced into doing something.
Lastly, this letter will be presented during the city’s official ceremony for the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. While the official day is Saturday the ceremony is being held Friday, and it’s the 25th anniversary of the Montreal Massacre. This is a tacit acknowledgment from the city that Peter MacKay’s C-36 is violence against women, and the city is not going to stand for it.
You can read the entire letter the majority of Toronto City Council sent to Kathleen Wynne at NOW Magazine.
Jillian Hollander's Blog 