Sex workers in Manitoba concerned over proposed legislation bringing changes to hotels
Sex workers are raising concerns about a proposed law aimed at cracking down on human traffickers who use short-term rentals, saying the move could make things less safe for them.
Last week the province introduced legislation that would mandate hotels and Airbnbs to collect names and addressees of all customers and keep a record of them. This would make it easier for police to track suspected human traffickers who use short-term rentals. Police would have access to the registry with a court order, but could also obtain information from it without a warrant on an urgent basis.
In a statement, the Sex Workers of Winnipeg Action Coalition questioned why police would need the increased access without a court order:
“Sex workers use rentals as safer spaces to see clients, and policing these areas further will not add any safety. In fact, we would argue that it decreases safety for sex workers by severely limiting safe places that sex workers conduct their work," the statement reads.
The coalition also has concerns about how the information will be kept secure.
Privacy Lawyer Andrew Buck said securing data like this could be harder to do for smaller businesses with limited resources.
"Anytime we’re collecting more information we always have to be careful and turn our minds toward, ‘how are we going to protect this information (and) for how long will we retain it’," Buck said.
The province said future regulations would spell out how the information is to be secured and for how long it needs to be kept.
When it comes to police getting information from the registry without a warrant, the legislation says a police officer must file a report to a commanding officer on why the demand was made, and a police service must prepare an annual report on the use of the urgent demands.
“The police will have full transparency as to how many records that they have obtained throughout the year, on an annual basis without that order, and why they had to take that extreme measure," Manitoba's Families Minister Rochelle Squires said on Friday.
The province also said the urgent demands would be used infrequently. The province said police currently have limited ability to access information of those at risk of being trafficked, which can lead to a delayed response.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Two killed after collision with truck on Hwy. 417 near Limoges, Ont.
Ontario Provincial Police say two people were killed after a car and a transport truck collided in the westbound lanes of Highway 417 near Limoges, Ont. on Tuesday afternoon.
Houston braces for flooding to worsen in wake of storms
High waters flooded neighborhoods around Houston on Saturday following heavy rains that have already resulted in crews rescuing hundreds of people from homes, rooftops and roads engulfed in murky water.
Canadian doctor concerned new weight-loss drug Wegovy may be used inappropriately
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
What a U.S. farmworker’s case of bird flu tells us about tracking the infection
A U.S. farmworker who caught bird flu after working with dairy cattle in Texas appears to be the first known case of mammal-to-human transmission of the virus, a new study shows.
‘We made them safer and more fun’: Here’s what’s new about e-scooters
Electric scooters (e-scooters) have been gaining popularity in the capital and this season comes with some changes and updates.
Hulk Hogan, hurricanes and a blockbuster recording: A week in review of the Trump hush money trial
Crucial witnesses took the stand in the second week of testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial, including a California lawyer who negotiated deals at the center of the case and a longtime adviser to the former president.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Canadian Auger-Aliassime reaches first Masters final in Madrid with another walkover
Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime has advanced to his first ATP Masters final, and he hasn't had to play all that much tennis to do it.