Canada (Attorney General) v. Bedford, 2012 ONCA ... - York University

Page: 15cross-examination on some of those affidavits, tendered by people affected byprostitution.The witnesses included current and former prostitutes, policeofficers, a Crown attorney, a representative of an organization that seeks toimprove the safety and work conditions of prostitutes and to assist them inleaving the occupation, a politician concerned about the victimization of streetprostitutes, and a journalist who has written extensively on the sex trade.[24] The parties also tendered extensive expert evidence on the social, politicaland economic dimensions of prostitution in Canada, as well as many governmentstudies – federal, provincial and municipal – that have been produced in the last25 years. Finally, the parties tendered evidence regarding the social and legalcontext of prostitution in several foreign jurisdictions, including the Netherlands,Germany, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand and the United States.THE APPLICATION JUDGE’S DECISION[25] The application judge heard evidence and argument over seven days inOctober 2009, and released her judgment the following September.Herreasons, which total 541 paragraphs, provide a full accounting of the facts andthe evidence before her. Accordingly, we will not repeat the application judge‟swork, and will refer to the record only as needed to address the legal issuesraised on the appeal.