Toronto, July 24, 2025 – Today, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the appeal challenging the constitutionality of two sex-work related offences in the Criminal Code. The decision in this appeal, in which sex workers’ organizations were denied leave to intervene, will perpetuate stigma against sex workers by characterizing sex work as inherently exploitative and continuing its criminalization.
In 2014, Parliament passed the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (PCEPA). PCEPA established Canada’s current sex work laws after the Supreme Court of Canada struck down the previous sex work laws in Canada (Attorney General) v. Bedford for violating sex workers’ Charter rights. The implementation of PCEPA not only criminalized clients, but also criminalized the exchange of sex work for consideration (such as money) for the first time in Canada.
The appellants in Kloubakov were non-sex worker third parties who challenged only the provisions related to procuring (i.e., enticing or forcing someone) and materially benefitting (i.e., receiving financial or other benefits) from sexual services, alleging violations of the s.7 (life, liberty, and security of the person) rights of sex workers. LEAF intervened in this appeal to emphasize the importance of taking an intersectional, substantive equality-based analysis when assessing the impact of these provisions on the liberty and security of sex workers.
In a unanimous decision, the Court found that the scope of the material benefit and procuring offences does not prohibit sex workers from imposing safety measures, including hiring drivers or security personnel under certain conditions. Therefore, the Court found that the provisions do not engage sex workers’ security of the person. The Court declined to consider sex workers’ right to life and liberty fully, noting that the appellants only raised them briefly and that both issues are raised “more squarely” in the Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform appeal (in which LEAF is also an intervener).
“As a gender equality organization, we are disappointed that the Court failed to meaningfully engage with evidence speaking to the lived realities of sex workers,” says Kat Owens, Interim Legal Director at LEAF. “Criminalizing sex work, and characterizing it as inherently exploitative, leads to greater stigma for sex workers and less belief in their experiences. ”
While LEAF is glad to have had the opportunity to intervene in this case, it is profoundly disappointed that The Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform (CASWLR), as well as Pivot Legal Society, the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, and the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, were denied leave to intervene. Decisions about sex workers’ Charter rights should not be made without sex workers at the table.
LEAF was grateful to be represented pro bono by Andrea Gonsalves, Olivia Eng, and Alexandra Heine (Stockwoods LLP) in this intervention. LEAF also thanks the expert members of the case committee that are helping to shape this intervention: Gillian Calder, Julie Kaye, Ummni Khan, and Kate Shannon.
-30-
For media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
About the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF)
The Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) is a national not-for-profit and charity that works to advance the equality rights of women, girls, trans, and non-binary people in Canada through litigation, law reform, and public legal education. Since 1985, LEAF has intervened in more than 130 cases that have helped shape the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. To find out more, visit www.leaf.ca.
