Madam Chair, indeed the issues which the member touched on in the latter part of his question about human trafficking and the increase in laws that perhaps liberalize or legalize prostitution, unfortunately we are not going to be able to travel to those jurisdictions to see it first hand as opposed to reading it on paper. We will not have an opportunity to cross-examine and certainly I think our report will suffer because of it.
Notwithstanding that, the issue of prostitution is very complex. It is an issue of poverty and homelessness. It is an issue of exploitation of women and the physical, sexual and psychological abuse of women. Certainly more reprehensible is the exploitation of young women, teenagers and children.
It deals with health issues and the spread of communicable diseases such as HIV-AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. It deals with the migration of women, the smuggling of women. It deals with drugs and drug addiction. It is a whole microcosm of minor issues that force women into economic prostitution, where it is the end of the month and they do not have sufficient funds to feed their children or pay the rent. It is issues of mental health for women, as well as men and young boys. It is not just a female problem. It is a male and female problem.
Often we do not address the other half of the equation. It is a two part philosophy. There is a male element in this too. They are the johns, the clients, who could be an individual's son, father, uncle or brother. Similarly the sex workers could be someone's mother, daughter, grandmother, aunt or sister. They are human beings with a lot of problems. Most individuals do not wish to be there. They feel they are trapped and they cannot get out because of criminal records. They certainly would not want that life for any of their children.
It is a very complex issue. We commenced hearings here in Ottawa in February. We will continue our hearings perhaps until the end of June. We have crossed Canada consulting people and organizations that deal with sex workers. We have spoken with many sex workers, the high track, as they call it, the low track, which are the street workers, as well as escort services. That is another area. We see the ads in the local newspapers and in the yellow pages, but we do not hear much about them. People say that perhaps that is okay.
In dealing with these individuals there is a certain prejudice that these women are trash so they are not worthy of consideration. That is simply not the case. For those who feel that way, shame on them.
We have had cross-country consultations and we will continue with our study, even though we have been restricted a little because of the denial of travelling to those areas that have different approaches. In Sweden they do not criminalize the sex workers themselves but they go after the clients, the johns. Amsterdam and Utrecht in the Netherlands have a more liberalized approach. In England it is lawful for individuals to operate in their own homes. New Zealand introduced a year ago a new law legalizing prostitution.
People perhaps do not realize that in Canada today the actual sex act between consenting adults for money is not illegal. What is illegal is the asking for that service, which is solicitation, pimping or procuring, that is, obtaining women or men to prostitute themselves, or having common bawdy houses where this activity goes on. Transporting someone to a bawdy house is a crime, but the actual sexual act between consenting adults for consideration is not unlawful.
I could go on forever on this issue. We have learned a lot. I have heard the snickers and chuckles too. Shame on those members.