Labour of Love

Abstract

In 2013 the Supreme Court Of Canada struck down laws related to prostitution in the case Canada (Attorney General) v. Bedford and as a result, there are now interesting implications that affect both federal and provincial jurisdictions. This paper advances two constitutional theories about the future of legislation surrounding prostitution. The first, and likely most controversial theory, is that the principles as set out in the Bedford decision move legislation on prostitution from the Criminal Code of Canada, the federal domain, to labour law, an area of provincial jurisdiction. Also discussed in this paper is that Bedford also advances the theory that the federal and provincial governments each have substantive roles to play in terms of legislating prostitution.

Discipline: Political Sciences (Honours)

Faculty Mentor: Dr. John Soroski