While prostitution is legal in Canada, the laws aimed at preventing its practice went far beyond protecting communities from public nuisances associated with the sex trade, the nine justices decided.
The court gave the Canadian federal government a year to amend the laws so that they conform with the protections of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms or let them expire in December Bedford appeared on the snowy steps of the high court in Ottawa bedecked in dominatrix black leather and carrying a whip. Twitter: cjwilliamslat. April 29, Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.
Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. Carol J. Williams is former senior international affairs writer for the Los Angeles Times. A foreign correspondent for 25 years, she has won five Overseas Press Club awards, two Sigma Delta Chi citations and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in international reporting.
She left The Times in De Los. Times Everywhere. For Subscribers. All Sections. About Us. B2B Publishing. Hot Property. Times Events. Times Store. Special Supplements. Terri Jean Bedford, in dominatrix garb, flashes a victory sign at the Supreme Court of Canada on Friday after the justices ruled unanimously to strike down laws against prostitution.
Bedford and other sex workers argued that the laws constitute arbitrary discrimination and prevent them from practicing their trade safely. By Carol J. Share via Close extra sharing options. More to Read. Editorial: Supreme Court squandered a chance to protect medically necessary abortions. Supreme Court wipes out anticorruption law that bars officials from taking gifts for past favors. Enter email address. Sign Me Up. More From the Los Angeles Times.
