Research publications

Canada’s approach to dealing with prostitution (consensual sex between adults for money, also referred to as sex work) is multifaceted, combining criminal laws at the federal level, provincial/territorial laws and municipal measures, highlighting the various jurisdictional responsibilities at play. At the federal level, Canada’s approach to prostitution changed significantly following the 2013 decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in Canada (Attorney General) v. Bedford in which the Court struck down three prostitution-related Criminal Code provisions as unconstitutional. Parliament responded with new legislation in 2014, basing the legal framework on a conception of prostitution as a form of sexual exploitation, with the goal of reducing and ultimately abolishing prostitution to the greatest extent possible. Under this new paradigm, the purchase of sexual services is prohibited, as is advertising or receiving material benefits from the sale of another person’s sexual services. However, with some exceptions, sex workers are not prohibited from selling, offering or advertising their own services. This HillStudy provides an overview of international law relating to prostitution, the federal approach to prostitution under the Code, and provincial/territorial and municipal measures that aim to deal with specific issues at a practical level.

This HillStudy explores the rules that govern the use of both official languages in Canada’s justice system, with particular focus on the role of the federal government in that regard. First, it provides an overview of Canada’s court system, then it examines the legislative and constitutional framework for judicial bilingualism in a federal context, both in federal courts and in criminal law. Lastly, it looks at a number of current issues related to the use of both official languages in Canada’s court system.

In Canada’s criminal justice system, people are sometimes found guilty of crimes that they did not commit. These errors are known as wrongful convictions. This HillStudy discusses the history of wrongful convictions in Canada and the establishment of the Miscarriage of Justice Review Commission.

Although domestic police, prosecutors and courts must operate within the confines of their territorial jurisdiction, criminal behaviour knows no borders. As such, states have developed legal tools to deal with cases in which one or more elements of a crime – such as location, the accused, evidence or proceeds – are located in another country. The tools for recognizing and enforcing international aspects of national criminal law include the exercise of extraterritorial jurisdiction and various mechanisms for interstate cooperation in criminal matters, such as extradition, mutual legal assistance, seizure (including the forfeiture of criminal proceeds) and most recently, direct access to electronic data.

The appropriate sentence for a crime is a hotly contested topic. Some people feel that more weight should be given to the objectives of deterrence and punishment, while others want to focus on rehabilitation, for example. While judicial discretion is an essential element of judicial independence in a democracy, how much discretion is appropriate continues to be a big part of the debate. Mandatory minimum sentences are among the most controversial components of sentencing. A broad range of sentences are available to a sentencing judge in Canada, and this HillStudy explores each in turn, as well as the objectives of sentencing in Canadian law.