Vancouver’s Doing It Right

The City of Vancouver has a very good reason to be suspicious of Peter MacKay’s C-36. In the past the Vancouver Police Department adopted a Swedish Model approach to sex work in Vancouver’s Downtown East Side. The result was dozens of murdered sex workers.

So when Peter MacKay unfurled C-36, a bill that is nothing short of a violent attack on sex workers that turns all of Canada into a hunting ground for violent predators, Vancouver was understandably upset; they recognized they had made an awful mistake that cost dozens of lives, and now here’s the federal government making the same mistake that will no doubt cost even more lives.

The City issued an official statement, which I’ve talked about here before and have referred to in letters to politicians I’ve written here in Ontario.

Now, Constable Brian Montague with the Vancouver Police Department has made a statement to Straight reporter Carlito Pablo in a phone interview. I have to say, thinking of my sisters in Vancouver, what a relief it must be to them.

“Our officers will still be guided by the principles and policies and procedures outlined in the sex-work-enforcement guidelines that we have,” Const. Brian Montague told the Straight in a phone interview.

The VPD spokesperson was referring to a set of directives adopted by the police force in January 2013 that states: “Sex work involving consenting adults is not an enforcement priority for the VPD.”

When asked if Vancouver police will be mounting sting operations against buyers of sex, Montague responded: “If you read our policy…I think the best way to put it is enforcement is a last resort for us.”

Montague also noted that the VPD has the same approach toward marijuana laws: the VPD does not place a high investigative and enforcement priority on possession of cannabis as a singular offence.

In other words, Constable Montague is implying the Vancouver Police Department is going to treat what shouldn’t be a crime as though it is not a crime. Give a sex worker business, you’re in the clear; give a sex worker trouble, and you’re going to get in trouble yourself.

Since then, 25 members of Toronto City Council joined with the City of Vancouver in expressing their disdain for this awful bill. Do you hear that, Toronto Mayor John Tory? Do you hear that, Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair? Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne? This is how you should treat the issue.

Sex workers and our allies are watching both of you. The clock is ticking.

Slow and steady wins the race

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 25^th 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.