Selling sex isn’t illegal in Canada, but a new law that criminalizes its purchase is putting sex workers in harm’s way, warns the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA).

Canada’s existing prostitution laws “do not address the root causes and pathways that lead many people into the sex industry, nor do they address the workplace health and safety concerns of the sex workers,” the association levelled in a December position paper. Instead, the sex industry should be regulated like any other business under workplace health, safety and anti-discrimination laws — not the Criminal Code.

“This isn’t a legal issue, this is a public health and safety issue and we should treat it as such,” says CPHA Executive Director Ian Culbert.

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