Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'll be brief.
My question will be directed to you, Minister Swan. Obviously Manitoba appears in its enforcement to have adopted the Nordic model. In the Nordic model, of course, the prostitutes are not charged, correct?
You had concerns with clause 15, of course, that prostitutes would be charged if they were selling their goods in a public place. Of course, the intent in that provision is to not expose children to what prostitution can be.
Now, we all know that when a prosecution is undertaken, it's done in a couple of steps. Basically, the police have enforced their discretion. The crown has enforced its discretion. We know from discussions with other police forces that prior to Bedford, what the police forces would do is they would actually arrest the prostitutes, because they'd have a legal authority to do so; would question them; and would inquire as to whether or not they were victimized or whether there was some way that they could get information about the pimps, those who were victimizing them. They would not charge them, but would then direct them to services that might extract them from the industry. So if you're not charging the prostitutes, you're sort of taking away that possibility—although ultimately they're not charged.
If this bill were amended to require the Attorney General to consent to the charges going forward, would that change your point of view?