TORONTO - The Court of Appeal for Ontario says it will rule Monday in a case concerning the constitutionality of Canada's prostitution laws.
The federal and Ontario governments appealed an Ontario Superior Court ruling that struck down laws against keeping a common bawdy house, communicating for the purposes of prostitution and living on the avails of the trade.
Superior Court Justice Susan Himel ruled the laws were contributing to the danger faced by prostitutes and violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms by forcing prostitutes to choose between their liberty and their security.
Lawyer Alan Young and the sex-trade workers argue that the law against keeping a common bawdy house endangers sex-trade workers because the threat of violence is significantly reduced when they can ply their trade indoors.
They also argue the law against living on the avails prevents sex-trade workers from hiring security personnel.
The Superior Court decision struck down the application of the law in Ontario and the case could eventually be taken all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada.
