Justice committee  We haven't done an analysis of that. What I can say is that we're in favour of the general principle of restraint in regard to bail. For a concrete example, at this point in time, it's not uncommon for people who are charged with sex work offences to get bail conditions that restrict them from going into the areas where they were working and where they were charged, but sometimes that's where they live as well, or where they access health care and social services.

Justice committee  I will start by saying that we don't have data on whether the revised bawdy house law specific to the practice of acts of indecency has been used specifically against sex workers for sex work activities. Certainly, the legal analysis we've received suggests that, yes indeed, the bawdy house law could continue to be used to target sex work activities, although if that were to happen we would refer back to the Bedford case, which determined that the bawdy house law, at least specific to prostitution, interfered with and violated our charter right to security of the person.

Justice committee  Again, I can't say that we have any hard statistics on that; however, anecdotally, yes. I would also say that as a coalition of 28 organizations across the country whose focus is primarily on sex work-related matters, we haven't yet carved out the opportunity to robustly discuss intimate partner violence and the impact of the bill thereon.

Justice committee  One hundred per cent.

Justice committee  Thank you so much. Good afternoon and thank you for the opportunity to address you today. The Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform is a coalition of 28 sex worker and allied organizations from across the country advocating for law reform that advances the rights and safety of people who sell or trade sex.

Justice committee  Personally?

Justice committee  I'm sorry. Could you say that again?

Justice committee  As the worker?

Justice committee  Do you mean in the majority of cases that are not trafficking cases?

Justice committee  At this point, our contracts are all verbal. That's simply because any written contract would be a clear violation of the criminal laws pertaining to third parties materially benefiting in relation to a commercial enterprise or procuring. That is a challenge because when you have a verbal contract in any work sector, it's much harder to enforce because you just have somebody's word for it.

Justice committee  I have never had that problem, and I've worked for dozens of massage parlours and a handful of escort agencies, and now I work part time on an independent basis, but I've never had a hard time leaving. You just move on to something else.

Justice committee  It varies dramatically. It varies across subsector, on the street, in a massage parlour, in an escort agency. It varies geographically. I can say that if you are working for somebody else, you can give anywhere from 5% or 10% up to, more commonly, 50% or 60%, and in situations that I would call largely exploitative, it could be as much as 100%.

Justice committee  It really varies. In municipalities—and Toronto is one of them—there are some sex work establishments that are not overtly addressed as such, and they offer, say, erotic massage or escort services, but they really are sex work services, and those that are registered and incorporated do indeed collect and remit HST.

Justice committee  Typically it's, “Well, we're sorry to lose you,” and, “Goodbye.” That's where I think we need to distinguish between sex work and trafficking, because clearly, if somebody is trafficked, they can't say goodbye and walk out the door. The reality is that there are enough people willing to engage in sex work and enough people willing to hire them that it becomes a non-issue.

Justice committee  Sorry, could you say that again?