Critics of bill C-36 seem to have been left off the invite list for justice roundtable closed-door consultations

Over the past month, Justice Minister Peter MacKay has been not-so-quietly crisscrossing the country, holding closed-door confabs with what his department describes as “criminal justice system stakeholders.”

Although those meetings have taken place in camera, which puts the details of the discussion firmly off the record, it’s clear from the accompanying press releases that one of the key items on the agenda has been C-36, MacKay’s legislative bid to rewrite Canada’s prostitution laws in the wake of last year’s Supreme Court decision.

In an email to CBC News, MacKay spokeswoman Clarissa Lamb declined to release any additional information on who has been bending MacKay’s ear over the course of his cross-Canada consultations on C-36 and other “justice-related issues.”

Despite repeated requests, she refused to provide a list of attendees, but would say only that the minister “has met with a variety of individuals across many different sectors on justice issues of concern to Canadians across the country.”

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