Mr. Speaker, I have a petition from several hundred people across Canada, calling on the government to request that Parliament amend the Criminal Code to decriminalize the selling of sexual services and criminalize the purchasing of sexual services, and provide support to those who desire to leave prostitution.
The petitioners have said that the demand for commercial sex with women and children is the root cause of prostitution, and that trafficking, child prostitution and violence toward women have increased in countries where prostitution has been legalized.