In my last blog post, I summarized what happened with Bill C-36. In this post, I would like to explain to you why I took the position I did on the bill.
As critic in the Senate of Bill C-36, I found aspects of the bill concerning. Now that it has passed, we must continue with our mission of ensuring the safety of all Canadians. The main way this will occur is by continuing the conversation around the issues facing sex workers in Canada. My priority in the Senate has always been to protect the safety of minorities.
This is also the case for sex workers. Consensual sex workers that practice in Canada have rights as well, and those rights need to be protected. Admittedly, these workers are in the minority. But this is no different from any other minority rights that I have fought for – they need to be protected, and we must protect them. This is why I stressed the importance of understanding that since sex work will continue in Canada, we must do all we can to protect the safety of these individuals.
Sex workers, social workers, police officers, and legislators, all need to do our part. We need to make sure these workers feel secure in reporting any abuses or violations in their work. With the passing of Bill C-36, we must continue to have the conversation around the impact of the legislation. We want to ensure that these workers are secure, and if not that they feel safe in reporting their concerns to law enforcement officers. We have an amazing team of law enforcement officials across our nation, and I urge all citizens to keep their trust in them if they face concerns about their safety. Let’s keep this conversation going. Let us continue to protect our citizens.