A group of MPs studying Canada’s prostitution laws is seeking $200,000 in federal funds to visit European cities with red-light zones and legal brothels. The five-member justice subcommittee plans to visit Britain, the Netherlands and Sweden. Reno, Nevada, is also on the destination list.
“We want to go to Sweden because they have a particular model there where they decriminalize the sex worker, or the prostitute, and they still criminalize the customers,” said NDP MP Libby Davies.
“In the U.K. they actually allow women to work out of their own homes. The Netherlands, of course, is a well-known situation where they have a fully operating area for the sex trade, and I think we’re very interested to see what the impact of that is from various perspectives.”
I suppose that a little “impact” from the “bent over a chair” perspective of the Canadian taxpayer is too much to hope for …
It’d be interesting to see detailed expense accounts.
Hilda – $200
Inga – $200
Bradley, Percival and Bruce – $1000
. . .
I’ll just repeat what I wrote at the Shotgun.
I can’t wait for this to happen in Canada…
“A 25-year-old waitress who turned down a job providing “sexual services” at a brothel in Berlin faces possible cuts to her unemployment benefit under laws introduced this year.
Prostitution was legalised in Germany just over two years ago and brothel owners � who must pay tax and employee health insurance � were granted access to official databases of jobseekers.”
“Under Germany’s welfare reforms, any woman under 55 who has been out of work for more than a year can be forced to take an available job � including in the sex industry � or lose her unemployment benefit.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/01/30/wgerm30.xml
I think that the German case turned out to be an urban legend. Or premonition….
I think it was one of those deals like those “weird laws” emails we all get saying it’s illegal to tie a goat to a parking meter in Nowhere, Nevada.
The law probably tried to cover bets by saying domesticated animals while it was meant to keep people from tying horses to meters (back in the old days, when meters were new). Nowadays you wouldn’t likely even get a ticket tho as long as you put a quarter in.
Of course sometimes they’re true, too – it really is illegal to shoot camels in Arizona (they’re protected).
What I meant by that was it could *potentially* happen, not that a woman would have to take a job as a hooker.
Beltway Traffic Jam
The daily linkfest:
Kevin Aylward applies his engineering skills to make his baby sleep.
Craig Henry sees a solution to the Social Security problem: Cigarettes.
Kate McMillan reports on the Canadian Parliament’s fact finding tour of Europe’s…
You would think after 2000 years of the profession being around, these politicians would know how a hooker works…
HBO routinely runs stories about Euro sex, and the pols can watch it all in the privacy of their dark basements.They won’t even need a raincoat.
I Could Scream
Examining the plight of Islamic Women
http://www.wretchard.com.blogs/i_could_scream/default.aspx
I wonder if I could get one of them to bring back a few “menus” for me
The UK does NOT allow women to work out of their front rooms! Otherwise my wife would be contributing a bit more to the housekeeping than she does at the moment……
More illfounded crap from someone who does not know what they are talking about. Oops that was an MP – what am I saying……situation normal.