Which provinces have the toughest laws against prositution and which have the least?

I hope it's good question.

There are no provincial prostitution laws.

Prostitution is legal in Canada. Many prostitution related activities (public communication, bawdy houses, underage etc) are illegal, but they are regulated under the Criminal Code of Canada, not provincial law. Some provincial courts have ruled that aspects of the Criminal Code violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. These decisions are being appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada. In the meantime, the Criminal Code provisions remain in place.

To get more specific info on the law and current cases you can search the Legal Discussion or Things You Should Know sections of Cerb. You can also google Canadian prostitution laws.

There are municipal, provincial and federal laws, both civil and criminal. Regardless of the law, there is ultimately the decision by law enforcement on whether to pursue something.

Simply having something being legal does not mean that it will be permitted. Sophia used an apt term and that being tolerance.

It is sad to say but in PEI it could be a bigger issue than elsewhere. Another example that saddens me is that abortion is legal in Canada but no woman can access one in PEI.

So there are laws and legalities but then there is the reality of the community or province choosing to ignore them.

I used to hear guys saying the strippers in Ontario or Toronto would give you lap dances and you were allowed to touch them where here in Winnipeg you could just get a private dance. I don't know if that was true but that was stuff I heard. I find it hard to believe that such things would allowed without going to jail but not sure why a rumour like that would be said.

Since the Criminal Code is standard across the country, Sophia's phrase community "tolerance level" is a good non-legalistic way to look at this. To answer your question using that standard, Quebec would be the most sexually liberal/tolerant society in Canada. Maybe that's part of what makes them a "distinct society" :-) That extends to the erotic and sexual service industries as well. It's more "above ground" and accepted as part of urban life in Montreal for example than any where else in Canada. There are numerous strip clubs, massage parlours, sex aid shops and escorts conducting business in prominent downtown locations instead of in marginal low profile locations. The only other comparable area would be around Niagara Falls.

I'm not sure from your comments whether you are equating lap dances and customers touching dancers with prostitution. Lap dances are certainly a very erotic service :-) but they aren't a "sexual service" (intercourse, masturbation, oral etc) and therefore they aren't considered prostitution.

As Aubrey and Sophia point out, strip clubs are usually regulated by provincial liquor license regulations or municipal zoning/licensing bylaws and those standards do vary across the country. Here in Nova Scotia for example, no contact is allowed between a patron and dancer. In fact a minimum separation distance of 3 feet has to be maintained. Yet in many other provinces lap dances are obviously allowed. As for how much contact, well that's usually a case of your mileage may vary. I've heard some dancers describe many clients as grabbing and squeezing them "as if they had never seen a woman before." So since it's unpleasant, the dancer is obviously going to spend a lot of time removing the client's hands whereas if the next client is more respecful and has a gentler touch he or she may be allowed much more contact.

I hope this helps.

Since the Criminal Code is standard across the country, Sophia's phrase community "tolerance level" is a good non-legalistic way to look at this. To answer your question using that standard, Quebec would be the most sexually liberal/tolerant society in Canada. Maybe that's part of what makes them a "distinct society" :-) That extends to the erotic and sexual service industries as well. It's more "above ground" and accepted as part of urban life in Montreal for example than any where else in Canada. There are numerous strip clubs, massage parlours, sex aid shops and escorts conducting business in prominent downtown locations instead of in marginal low profile locations. The only other comparable area would be around Niagara Falls.

 

I'm not sure from your comments whether you are equating lap dances and customers touching dancers with prostitution. Lap dances are certainly a very erotic service :-) but they aren't a "sexual service" (intercourse, masturbation, oral etc) and therefore they aren't considered prostitution.

 

As Aubrey and Sophia point out, strip clubs are usually regulated by provincial liquor license regulations or municipal zoning/licensing bylaws and those standards do vary across the country. Here in Nova Scotia for example, no contact is allowed between a patron and dancer. In fact a minimum separation distance of 3 feet has to be maintained. Yet in many other provinces lap dances are obviously allowed. As for how much contact, well that's usually a case of your mileage may vary. I've heard some dancers describe many clients as grabbing and squeezing them "as if they had never seen a woman before." So since it's unpleasant, the dancer is obviously going to spend a lot of time removing the client's hands whereas if the next client is more respecful and has a gentler touch he or she may be allowed much more contact.

 

I hope this helps.

There is a publication by the Quebec judicial information society (SOQIJ) on those very topics, stemming from a municipal court decision. It is an "old" paper (in 2010). Unfortunatly, it's only available in french as far as i can tell.

As it's very late as i post it, i will not try to summarise it or translate just yet.

There is a publication by the Quebec judicial information society (SOQIJ) on those very topics, stemming from a municipal court decision. It is an "old" paper (in 2010). Unfortunatly, it's only available in french as far as i can tell.

 

As it's very late as i post it, i will not try to summarise it or translate just yet.

If you read the page using Chrome, it will translate it for you. Or you can copy/paste into Google's translation function.

The very short-form of the document is that a municipal court found some activity taking place in strip clubs to be prostitution and therefore a whole slew of people were guilty of being in a bawdy house and a few other things. The Court of Appeal threw out the judgement holding that the acts were not prostitution and therefore all the charges that flowed from those acts were set aside.

There was no further appeal by the Crown.

Although I have already dominated in this post...it's Nova Scotia, hands down on the strictest laws, boundaries etc...just my input.

This is the translated text if you want to read it:

http://translate.google.ca/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fsoquij.qc.ca%2Ffr%2Fressources-pour-tous%2Farticles%2Fles-danses-contacts-divertissement-ou-acte-de-prostitution

If you read the page using Chrome, it will translate it for you. Or you can copy/paste into Google's translation function.

 

The very short-form of the document is that a municipal court found some activity taking place in strip clubs to be prostitution and therefore a whole slew of people were guilty of being in a bawdy house and a few other things. The Court of Appeal threw out the judgement holding that the acts were not prostitution and therefore all the charges that flowed from those acts were set aside.

 

There was no further appeal by the Crown.

Excellent bcguy! Thanks for doing this. Hadnt thought of it at the time - my brain was half asleep...

Although I have already dominated in this post...it's Nova Scotia, hands down on the strictest laws, boundaries etc...just my input.

Sounds like the root of many past questions as to the nearest strip bars in New Brunswick from our southern neighbors! 3 feet!

There are no provincial prostitution laws.

This is not entirely true. While you're right that the criminal code is federal, many provincial/territorial governments have now passed provincial legislation (Safer Communities and Neighbourhood Acts - SCAN)as well that wade into this territory. While I think it's primarily used to deal with drug houses, not entirely as I understand it.

Yukon, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Alberta I believe are the ones who have it now. It allows the provincial officers to evict someone from their home (even if they own it) without having to criminally prove it. It's something like a 0.05 blood alcohol without being criminally charged.

Off topic, but Mature Lee, you have the most beautiful eyes.

Yes Hornyguy, good point.

I agree that the various Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Acts across the country apply to prostitution activities but they have primarily been used for activities related to drug trafficking. The Acts are also civil laws not criminal and don't result in criminal charges. In a Saskatchewan case the judge stated "While it refers to criminal activities, the [Act] does not purport to legislate criminal law which is the exclusive domain of Parliament. No person is at risk of being convicted of a criminal offence under the Act. No person is at risk of being deprived of his or her liberty under the Act."

In Nova Scotia all of the cases so far have related to drug trafficking. On a personal note, I used to have a drug dealer living across the across the street from me. There were an incredibly large number of cars coming and going at all times of the day. Most of the cars were speeding and were dangerous, particularly to kids in the neighbourhood. The house had been under surveillance for many years and eventually was busted. The house had reinforced doors, bars on the windows, surveillance cameras and guard dogs so even with a SWAT style police entry, it took them a while to get in and most of the evidence was flushed down the toilet. Under a SCAN type legislation it wouldn't have been necessary to get sufficient evidence for a criminal conviction (undercover purchases, possession etc). The Act focuses on the behaviours that put neighbours at risk. Having said that I think there's a pretty good risk that you just move the criminal activity to another neighbourhood.

In the case of prostitution, under SCAN legislation it wouldn't be sufficient to show that prostitution is taking place on the property. You have to show how it disturbs neighbours peaceful enjoyment of their property or puts their safety at risk. I don't think independent sp's would meet this standard. As previous discussions on cerb have shown, most sp's providing in service work quite discreetly and expect their clients to behave accordingly. Police have generally ignored this type of business and the adoption of SCAN legislation doesn't seem to have changed policing.

High profile massage parlours/bawdy houses are more likely at risk if they and their clients behave recklessly, especially if they are in residential neighbourhoods. Possible examples of this would be very high volumes in a resudential neighbourhood or late night drunks mistakenly going to a neighbouring address at all hours of the day and night. These are usually the types of businesses that are already at risk of getting busted.