Marathon prostitution hearings begin Monday in special summer parliament session
Posted July 6, 2014 7:29 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA – Political fireworks and gut-wrenching, street-level testimonials are expected to mark this week’s marathon round of hearings by the House of Commons justice committee on the Harper government’s new prostitution bill.
The government says it is racing to a tight December deadline imposed by the Supreme Court of Canada to create a new law.
NDP justice critic Francoise Boivin says she wants the government to slow down and thoughtfully craft a new, Charter-compliant law over the summer months.
The high court struck down Canada’s old prostitution law last December and gave it one year to replace it with one that would comply with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Justice Minister Peter MacKay says the government’s message this coming week is to pass the bill because there’s a sense of urgency.
MacKay will be the first witness on Monday morning at this week’s special sitting of the Commons justice committee, which will cram what would easily be a month or more of testimony into just over three days.
