Troubling changes in federal bawdy-house laws

A closer look at the federal government's new regulations on "bawdy houses" reveals some pretty alarming changes. In case you missed it, here's the press release and the backgrounder that the Department of Justice issued in early August. Very scary for anyone working in the indoor sex industry in Canada - now that they've redefined keeping a common bawdy house as a "serious offence" under the Criminal Code, police have the right to run wiretaps, and the minimum prison sentence for someone convicted of this will now be five years (compared to a maximum of two years right now).

What does it all mean? Depends on how police choose to use the changed laws, but it certainly increases the risks for sex workers and others in the business. Pay attention, folks - this is a very worrying development.