Justice committee  I would say that whether or not the Palermo protocol is legitimate under the UN is under question, and that the WHO, the World Bank, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNESCO, the ILO, and all of these parts of the UN have signed on to decriminalize and remove laws that criminalize people who are vu

Justice committee  I would say that this is a reflection of, first of all, some bias on the part of police, in that they're looking for sex work only as it relates to human trafficking. It's not as sexy and fun to go to a farm and see if the farmhands are being human trafficked. I would also say

Justice committee  I think the Vancouver experience is very critical in this regard, and while our policing policy is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, what it has done is free up police resources to actually fight exploitation and to not blanket-target the entire industry in sort of t

Justice committee  It certainly does not. In screening my clients.... I'm very lucky. After 36 years, I have a large, regular clientele base. For the most part, I know my clients. That's the thing. If you can't screen clients and you're having a hard time finding clients, every client you see is a

Justice committee  I'm not sure we really need to keep a ban on anything in this regard. Unfortunately, there is this hundred-year-long stigma about sex work. There are a lot of myths and rhetoric that have been perpetuated, not unlike by some of the witnesses who have given false information here.

Justice committee  Yes, it is. However, I think we should listen to police and ensure that they have the tools they need under other legislation where they seem to be struggling. For example—

Justice committee  Sure. I am a layperson—as we all sort of are—working on these issues by default because I am a sex worker and it applies to me. My friends have also died. I'm with Melissa. This is not a joke for us. This is not about ideology. This is supposed to be about the safety of my commu

Justice committee  Sure. That's no problem.

Justice committee  Good morning. Thank you for hearing me today. First, I'd like to acknowledge that I'm on the lands of the three great nations of Squamish, Musqueam and Tsleil-waututh peoples. For the purpose of this testimony, I represent the BC Coalition of Experiential Communities, which is