OTTAWA, Canada—Using the rationale that it is acting at the behest of its citizens "to put a stop to foreign workers entering Canada to work in businesses where there are reasonable grounds to suspect a risk of sexual exploitation," the Canadian government today implemented new measures that immediately bar foreign sex workers from working temporarily in the country.
"Effective immediately," Canada said in an official announcement issued today, "Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) will issue negative Labour Market Opinions (LMOs) for all applications from employers linked to the sex trade, effectively preventing them from hiring temporary foreign workers. Also, as of July 14, Citizenship and Immigration Canada will no longer process new work permit applications from temporary foreign workers intending to work for sex trade related businesses-namely strip clubs, escort services and massage parlors."
According to CTV News, "The so-called LMOs document the potential impact a foreign worker would have on Canadian jobs. Because employers looking to hire workers from abroad need positive LMO, the new policy means the practice will end."
Though the mandate does not target American sex workers per se, the shared border and long history of relatively easy cross-border employment opportunities between the two countries will likely mean that American sex workers—the vast majority, if not all, of whom are not "trafficked," but traveling, as professionals are wont to do—are disproportionately impacted by the new rule.
HRSDC, one of the agencies that manage the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) under the authority of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, posted the following notice to its website.
Notice to Employers:
Sex Trade-related Businesses
Effective July 4, 2012, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC)/Service Canada will issue negative labor market opinions (LMO) to sex trade-related businesses or other businesses where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that there is a risk of abuse or exploitation, including sexual exploitation of any workers.
These businesses include, but are not limited to:
* strip clubs
* escort services
* massage parlors
* other businesses where the workplace presents a risk of sexual exploitation or degrading work
NOTE:
HRSDC/Service Canada will ensure not to issue negative LMOs to businesses that typically require their employees to have qualifications and credentials that are regulated and certified by provincial/territorial authorities, such as massage therapy clinics.
In addition, effective July 14, 2012, Citizenship and Immigration Canada will no longer process work permit applications from temporary foreign workers seeking employment in businesses where there are reasonable grounds to suspect a risk of sexual exploitation of any workers.
Unclear is whether foreign workers who travel to Canada to perform in adult productions, live and prerecorded, for distribution through broadcast, DVD or the internet are also included in the prohibition. The catch-all language above would seem to indicate that Canada's conservatives, who, according to the Edmonton Journal, have been engaged in a "clampdown" on the adult entertainment industry for years, mean to include any adult entertainment-related business, and not just the traditional brick-and-mortar variety, but one would expect that the new mandate would then need to define precisely what types of productions would be included under the prohibition, in order to ensure that "legitimate" mainstream productions are not affected. That may be a slippery slope most Canadians are not interested in venturing down.
