Queer Ontario is fundamentally opposed to the regulatory changes to the bawdyhouse laws that were secretly passed by the Conservative government on July 13, 2010, and the undemocratic process that was used to pass them.

By designating bawdyhouses as ‘criminal organizations’ and by designating their operation as a ‘serious offence’ under the law, the Harper government has once again demonstrated that it is incapable of passing provisions that are publicly accountable. In advancing their tough-on-crime agenda above any nuanced understanding of organized crime in Canada; above any consideration for the lived realities of sex professionals; and above polls demonstrating the statistical drop in crime and the low priority crime-fighting has among Canadians, the Conservative government has made yet another unwarranted decision. Unfortunately, these measures are only exacerbated by the fact that the regulation was passed behind closed doors, without any opportunity for informed debate from either fellow MPs or the stakeholders who were to be affected by these amendments.
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The Harper government’s decision to eliminate the long-form census questionnaire to be replaced by a voluntary survey that will ultimately cost more than the current system is seen as short sighted by Queer Ontario. For years, queers have been lobbying and working with Statistics Canada to include the gender and sexually diverse in their census and surveys.

Not only will this decision (taken without consultation) abrogate the collection of important data that serves the development and growth of Canada in its business, charitable/nonprofit and public sectors, but seriously disrupt the continuation of ongoing data analysis in longitudinal studies Statistics Canada undertakes.
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Pride Toronto announced on June 23rd that it has passed a resolution to reverse its ban of the phrase “Israeli Apartheid” at all Pride events, which will now be replaced by a policy requiring all participating groups to review and sign the City of Toronto’s Declaration of a Non-Discrimination Policy. In addition, the organization has also proposed to appoint a panel of ‘LGBTTIQQ2SA leaders and friends’ that would oversee the ‘protection’ and ‘advancement’ of the festival’s core values and principles by consulting directly with members of the community. The reversal comes just over a month to the day that Pride Toronto announced it would play censor with the LGBT communities to appease city councilors, bureaucrats and corporate sponsors. Queer Ontario applauds the change in policy, but is raising a series of questions regarding the process that led to this latest decision and how it will be implemented.

Queer Ontario founder, Nick Mulé says, “Although Douglas Elliott, Brent Hawkes and Maura Lawless the three individuals who proposed the resolutions should be commended for assisting Pride Toronto in reversing the ban, the way this was conducted and is being characterized is highly suspect. At a time in which protests in this city are growing in response to G20 leaders meeting behind closed doors the same process being undertaken with this controversy undermines efforts made by the community.” As such, Queer Ontario raises the following questions:
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