Law Foundation of Saskatchewan Lecture

Thu., Oct. 23, 2014 5:00 p.m. - Thu., Oct. 23, 2014 7:00 p.m.

Location: Luther Auditorium, University of Regina main campus

The Law Foundation of Saskatchewan is dedicated to enhancing legal education and research in order to respond to the challenges facing the administration of justice. Through the Foundation’s generous support, the Law Foundation of Saskatchewan Chair in Police Studies at the University of Regina Faculty of Arts aims to examine contemporary issues in policing and social justice, to help address the concerns of the aboriginal community and to recruit more aboriginal people into policing. Each year, a speaker is invited to the University of Regina campus to deliver the Dr. Gordon Wicijowski Law Foundation of Saskatchewan Chair in Police Studies lecture, a public talk addressing issues of direct relevance to policing and social justice.

Lecture Title:	Beyond the criminal law: what local and provincial authorities can do to regulate sexually-oriented business
Date/Time:	Thursday 23 October 2014 at 5 p.m.
Location:	Luther Auditorium on the University of Regina main campus (free parking in lots 3M and 17)
Presenter:	Dr. Mariana Valverde, FRSC, Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies at the University of Toronto
Description:	The proposed new federal prostitution law has attracted a great deal of attention, but few Canadians know much about the alternatives: for example, few know that Australia and New Zealand, though they have very similar criminal codes, have almost completely decriminalized prostitution. Also, it is not widely known that some Canadian cities have long regulated (through licensing) some sex work, in the form of escort services. This talk reviews existing laws and policies, focusing mainly on the common-law jurisdictions of Australia and New Zealand, and also goes over existing Canadian municipal business licensing schemes. It will be shown that some regulatory schemes have proven to be as problematic, for the workers and for authorities, as criminalization. But Canada — and especially its provinces, territories, and municipalities — is in an excellent position to benefit from what has been learned from the over ten years of regulatory experiences in other countries.