Canada (AG) v Bedford

rdf:langString Canada (AG) v Bedford

rdf:langString McLachlin CJ

rdf:langString APPEALS and CROSS‑APPEAL from , affirming in part .

rdf:langString ss. 210, 212 and 213 of the Criminal Code do not pass Charter muster, as they infringe the s. 7 rights of prostitutes by depriving them of security of the person in a manner that is not in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice.

rdf:langString Canada (AG) v Bedford, 2013 SCC 72, [2013] 3 SCR 1101 is a decision of the Supreme Court of Canada on the Canadian law of sex work. The applicants, Terri-Jean Bedford, Amy Lebovitch and Valerie Scott, argued that Canada's prostitution laws were unconstitutional. The Criminal Code included a number of provisions, such as outlawing public communication for the purposes of prostitution, operating a bawdy house or living off of the avails of prostitution, even though prostitution itself is legal. The applicants argued that the laws deprive sex workers of their right to security by forcing them to work secretly. In 2012, the Court of Appeal for Ontario ruled that some, but not all, of these prohibitions violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and were unconstitutional. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in a 9–0 decision on December 20, 2013, that all of these laws are unconstitutional, although it delayed the striking down of the laws by one year to allow Parliament to update the laws in accordance with the ruling. The term "sex work" is used interchangeably with "prostitution" in this article, in accordance with the World Health Organization (WHO 2001; WHO 2005) and the United Nations (UN 2006; UNAIDS 2002).

rdf:langString Canada v Bedford

rdf:langString Appeals dismissed and cross‑appeal allowed.