The Honourable Kathleen Wynne,
Premier of Ontario
Legislative Building
Queen’s Park
Toronto, ON M7A 1A1
Dear Premier:
On November 5 2014, in support of UN Women’s “He For She” gender equality campaign, you said “Discrimination does not just crush the potential of its victims. It harms the potential of entire societies.”
Ms. Wynne, I could not agree more with you. It is a self-evident truth, so succinctly worded that the simplicity of it almost hides the importance and the passion behind it. Discrimination is a thief, stealing the potential of tomorrow for benefit of prejudice of today.
I am a business owner in Toronto. Over these past few months, I have been a victim of discrimination. My workers and employees have been victims of discrimination. Clients of the business I operate have been victims of discrimination. This discrimination has been out in the open, proudly crowed by media pundits, self-appointed moralists and even encouraged by elected politicians. And I worry that, beginning next month, the discrimination against us will turn violent.
The discrimination we face has been codified into law in the recently passed Bill C-36, the “Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act”. It is a bill that perpetuates stigma against sex workers and arguably encourages violence against them by forcing us into the shadows. This bill was predicated on the paternalistic belief that sex workers of all genders are incapable of consent, so the state must assume ownership over their bodies. It seeks to crush the potential of its victims – sex workers – by removing all protections against workplace violence. After the bill is enacted and becomes law next month, if sex workers are harmed, abused, victimised or murdered by consenting to use their own bodies in a way the government doesn’t approve of, the gist of the law is “well, so be it.”
I have owned and operated Cupid’s Escorts over the past 10 years, where I’ve provided screening and security for at least 600 escorts; currently, 40 avail themselves of my agency. Each one of them have shared a different reason for wishing to work as escorts – for some it was a sense of adventure, for others a form of expression – but ultimately, all of them work for the same reason every single one of us works: we live in a society built on earning and spending money in order to survive.
A significant amount of escorts were and are working their way through post-secondary education, which can be costly, especially in highly specialized fields. Escorts have been and are studying to be nurses, doctors, business majors, writers, lawyers – any job that you can imagine. Of past escorts, many of them have been successful. Many of them are still in touch with me. Many of them have become close friends. Their past of being an escort is part of who they are today as a successful, functioning member of society.
Imagine, if you will, those 600 women over the past 10 years having no workplace protection. Imagine all their safety was removed from them by the very government that is supposed to protect them. Imagine none of them were able to screen potential clients, instead falling into a predator’s trap. Imagine if all 600 of them had to work under the conditions in British Columbia when Robert Pickton was free and committing his terror in the shadows, a terror that was very real for his victims but virtually ignored by an indifferent public and police, because, well, “they’re just hookers”.
After December 6 2014, when Bill C-36 becomes law, this won’t be an uncomfortable thought. It will be a vicious reality.
On that day, the 40 escorts who I provide screening and security for will have no safety net. There will be no security protocol in place. There will be no driver to ensure support is just seconds away. All of them, at the stroke of midnight, will turn from law-abiding, taxpaying citizens to criminals just by doing that which they’ve been doing for months and years. They will be pushed into the margins of our society, dehumanized and stigmatized, instead of being treated with the basic decency that all persons within our country deserve.
Clients, who are caring and non-violent people, will disappear. They will be replaced by predators that will have a slew of potential victims, courtesy of the Conservative federal government.
In addition to your position of Premier of Ontario, you are also leader of the Ontario Liberal Party. I would hope that your views on the matter of C-36 align with those of the Liberal Party of Canada. In a statement issued on June 12 2014, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau’s office released a statement that read in part, “The Liberal Party of Canada is opposing C-36. We have serious concerns that this legislation fails to comply with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the requirements outlined by the Supreme Court of Canada in the Bedford decision. We are also concerned that this legislation fails to adequately protect the health and safety of vulnerable people, particularly women.”
As both a woman and the owner of Cupid’s Escorts, I take the issue of violence against women very seriously. It is a deeply personal issue to me. The escorts for whom I provide screening and security services trust me with a very serious responsibility. I have not and I will not let them down.
I agree with you, Premier Wynne: “discrimination does not just crush the potential of its victims. It harms the potential of entire societies.”
Your words are why I have written to you today. Your words are words of hope, care, and love. Your words are based in empathy and principles, and can serve as a guiding ethos not just for gender equality but for our province.
Those words are why I am asking you to refer Bill C-36 to the Ontario Supreme Court, and to instruct Crown Prosecutors to not lay any charges under this bill.
Yours,
[signed]
Jillian Hollander
Jillian Hollander's Blog 