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Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (S.C. 2014, c. 25)

Assented to 2014-11-06

Marginal note:1997, c. 16, s. 2; 2005, c. 32, ss. 10.1(1) and (2)

 Section 212 of the Act and the heading before it are repealed.

Marginal note:R.S., c. 51 (1st Supp.), s. 1

 The heading before section 213 of the Act is replaced by the following:

Offences in Relation to Offering, Providing or Obtaining Sexual Services for Consideration

Marginal note:R.S., c. 51 (1st Supp.), s. 1
  •  (1) The portion of subsection 213(1) of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

    Marginal note:Stopping or impeding traffic
    • 213. (1) Everyone is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction who, in a public place or in any place open to public view, for the purpose of offering, providing or obtaining sexual services for consideration,

  • Marginal note:R.S., c. 51 (1st Supp.), s. 1

    (2) Subsection 213(1) of the Act is amended by adding “or” at the end of paragraph (a), by striking out “or” at the end of paragraph (b) and by repealing the portion after paragraph (b).

  • (3) Section 213 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (1):

    • Marginal note:Communicating to provide sexual services for consideration

      (1.1) Everyone is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction who communicates with any person — for the purpose of offering or providing sexual services for consideration  —  in a public place, or in any place open to public view, that is or is next to a school ground, playground or daycare centre.

 Section 274 of the Act is amended

  • (a) by striking out the reference to “212,”; and

  • (b) by replacing the reference to “272 or 273” with a reference to “272, 273, 286.1, 286.2 or 286.3”.

Marginal note:1997, c. 30, s. 1
  •  (1) The portion of subsection 278.2(1) of the English version of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

    Marginal note:Production of record to accused
    • 278.2 (1) Except in accordance with sections 278.3 to 278.91, no record relating to a complainant or a witness shall be produced to an accused in any proceedings in respect of any of the following offences or in any proceedings in respect of two or more offences at least one of which is any of the following offences:

  • (2) Paragraph 278.2(1)(a) of the Act is amended

    • (a) by striking out the reference to “212,”; and

    • (b) by replacing the reference to “272 or 273” with a reference to “272, 273, 279.01, 279.011, 279.02, 279.03, 286.1, 286.2 or 286.3”.

  • Marginal note:1997, c. 30, s. 1

    (3) Subsection 278.2(1) of the Act is amended by adding “or” at the end of paragraph (a) and by replacing the portion after paragraph (a) with the following:

    • (b) any offence under this Act, as it read from time to time before the day on which this paragraph comes into force, if the conduct alleged would be an offence referred to in paragraph (a) if it occurred on or after that day.

Marginal note:2005, c. 43, s. 3

 Paragraphs 279.01(1)(a) and (b) of the Act are replaced by the following:

  • (a) to imprisonment for life and to a minimum punishment of imprisonment for a term of five years if they kidnap, commit an aggravated assault or aggravated sexual assault against, or cause death to, the victim during the commission of the offence; or

  • (b) to imprisonment for a term of not more than 14 years and to a minimum punishment of imprisonment for a term of four years in any other case.

Marginal note:2010, c. 3, s. 3

 Sections 279.02 and 279.03 of the Act are replaced by the following:

Marginal note:Material benefit — trafficking
  • 279.02 (1) Everyone who receives a financial or other material benefit, knowing that it is obtained by or derived directly or indirectly from the commission of an offence under subsection 279.01(1), is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than 10 years.

  • Marginal note:Material benefit — trafficking of person under 18 years

    (2) Everyone who receives a financial or other material benefit, knowing that it is obtained by or derived directly or indirectly from the commission of an offence under subsection 279.011(1), is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than 14 years and to a minimum punishment of imprisonment for a term of two years.

Marginal note:Withholding or destroying documents — trafficking
  • 279.03 (1) Everyone who, for the purpose of committing or facilitating an offence under subsection 279.01(1), conceals, removes, withholds or destroys any travel document that belongs to another person or any document that establishes or purports to establish another person’s identity or immigration status  — whether or not the document is of Canadian origin or is authentic  —  is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years.

  • Marginal note:Withholding or destroying documents — trafficking of person under 18 years

    (2) Everyone who, for the purpose of committing or facilitating an offence under subsection 279.011(1), conceals, removes, withholds or destroys any travel document that belongs to another person or any document that establishes or purports to establish another person’s identity or immigration status  — whether or not the document is of Canadian origin or is authentic  —  is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than 10 years and to a minimum punishment of imprisonment for a term of one year.

 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 286:

Commodification of Sexual Activity

Marginal note:Obtaining sexual services for consideration
  • 286.1 (1) Everyone who, in any place, obtains for consideration, or communicates with anyone for the purpose of obtaining for consideration, the sexual services of a person is guilty of

    • (a) an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years and a minimum punishment of,

      • (i) in the case where the offence is committed in a public place, or in any place open to public view, that is or is next to a park or the grounds of a school or religious institution or that is or is next to any other place where persons under the age of 18 can reasonably be expected to be present,

        • (A) for a first offence, a fine of  $2,000, and

        • (B) for each subsequent offence, a fine of  $4,000, or

      • (ii) in any other case,

        • (A) for a first offence, a fine of  $1,000, and

        • (B) for each subsequent offence, a fine of  $2,000; or

    • (b) an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than 18 months and a minimum punishment of,

      • (i) in the case referred to in subparagraph (a)(i),

        • (A) for a first offence, a fine of  $1,000, and

        • (B) for each subsequent offence, a fine of  $2,000, or

      • (ii) in any other case,

        • (A) for a first offence, a fine of  $500, and

        • (B) for each subsequent offence, a fine of  $1,000.

  • Marginal note:Obtaining sexual services for consideration from person under 18 years

    (2) Everyone who, in any place, obtains for consideration, or communicates with anyone for the purpose of obtaining for consideration, the sexual services of a person under the age of 18 years is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than 10 years and to a minimum punishment of imprisonment for a term of

    • (a) for a first offence, six months; and

    • (b) for each subsequent offence, one year.

  • Marginal note:Subsequent offences

    (3) In determining, for the purpose of subsection (2), whether a convicted person has committed a subsequent offence, if the person was earlier convicted of any of the following offences, that offence is to be considered as an earlier offence:

    • (a) an offence under that subsection; or

    • (b) an offence under subsection 212(4) of this Act, as it read from time to time before the day on which this subsection comes into force.

  • Marginal note:Sequence of convictions only

    (4) In determining, for the purposes of this section, whether a convicted person has committed a subsequent offence, the only question to be considered is the sequence of convictions and no consideration shall be given to the sequence of commission of offences, whether any offence occurred before or after any conviction or whether offences were prosecuted by indictment or by way of summary conviction proceedings.

  • Definitions of “place” and “public place”

    (5) For the purposes of this section, “place” and “public place” have the same meaning as in subsection 197(1).

Marginal note:Material benefit from sexual services
  • 286.2 (1) Everyone who receives a financial or other material benefit, knowing that it is obtained by or derived directly or indirectly from the commission of an offence under subsection 286.1(1), is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than 10 years.

  • Marginal note:Material benefit from sexual services provided by person under 18 years

    (2) Everyone who receives a financial or other material benefit, knowing that it is obtained by or derived directly or indirectly from the commission of an offence under subsection 286.1(2), is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than 14 years and to a minimum punishment of imprisonment for a term of two years.

  • Marginal note:Presumption

    (3) For the purposes of subsections (1) and (2), evidence that a person lives with or is habitually in the company of a person who offers or provides sexual services for consideration is, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, proof that the person received a financial or other material benefit from those services.

  • Marginal note:Exception

    (4) Subject to subsection (5), subsections (1) and (2) do not apply to a person who receives the benefit

    • (a) in the context of a legitimate living arrangement with the person from whose sexual services the benefit is derived;

    • (b) as a result of a legal or moral obligation of the person from whose sexual services the benefit is derived;

    • (c) in consideration for a service or good that they offer, on the same terms and conditions, to the general public; or

    • (d) in consideration for a service or good that they do not offer to the general public but that they offered or provided to the person from whose sexual services the benefit is derived, if they did not counsel or encourage that person to provide sexual services and the benefit is proportionate to the value of the service or good.

  • Marginal note:No exception

    (5) Subsection (4) does not apply to a person who commits an offence under subsection (1) or (2) if that person

    • (a) used, threatened to use or attempted to use violence, intimidation or coercion in relation to the person from whose sexual services the benefit is derived;

    • (b) abused a position of trust, power or authority in relation to the person from whose sexual services the benefit is derived;

    • (c) provided a drug, alcohol or any other intoxicating substance to the person from whose sexual services the benefit is derived for the purpose of aiding or abetting that person to offer or provide sexual services for consideration;

    • (d) engaged in conduct, in relation to any person, that would constitute an offence under section 286.3; or

    • (e) received the benefit in the context of a commercial enterprise that offers sexual services for consideration.

  • Marginal note:Aggravating factor

    (6) If a person is convicted of an offence under this section, the court that imposes the sentence shall consider as an aggravating factor the fact that that person received the benefit in the context of a commercial enterprise that offers sexual services for consideration.

Marginal note:Procuring
  • 286.3 (1) Everyone who procures a person to offer or provide sexual services for consideration or, for the purpose of facilitating an offence under subsection 286.1(1), recruits, holds, conceals or harbours a person who offers or provides sexual services for consideration, or exercises control, direction or influence over the movements of that person, is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than 14 years.

  • Marginal note:Procuring — person under 18 years

    (2) Everyone who procures a person under the age of 18 years to offer or provide sexual services for consideration or, for the purpose of facilitating an offence under subsection 286.1(2), recruits, holds, conceals or harbours a person under the age of 18 who offers or provides sexual services for consideration, or exercises control, direction or influence over the movements of that person, is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than 14 years and to a minimum punishment of imprisonment for a term of five years.

Marginal note:Advertising sexual services

286.4 Everyone who knowingly advertises an offer to provide sexual services for consideration is guilty of

  • (a) an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years; or

  • (b) an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than 18 months.

Marginal note:Immunity — material benefit and advertising
  • 286.5 (1) No person shall be prosecuted for

    • (a) an offence under section 286.2 if the benefit is derived from the provision of their own sexual services; or

    • (b) an offence under section 286.4 in relation to the advertisement of their own sexual services.

  • Marginal note:Immunity — aiding, abetting, etc.

    (2) No person shall be prosecuted for aiding, abetting, conspiring or attempting to commit an offence under any of sections 286.1 to 286.4 or being an accessory after the fact or counselling a person to be a party to such an offence, if the offence relates to the offering or provision of their own sexual services.

 

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