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July 11, 1995 So 8 Sonny Cifixen ~ Tuesd: co-publishers : John B. McClelland, Valerie Ellis editor : John B, McClelland advertising manager : Valerie Ellis senior advertising sales rep : Chris Hudson accounting : Sibylle Warren reception : Janet Rankin production : Tanya Mappin feature writer : Heather McCrae 1 published by: Sugg Citizen Publishing Ld OCNA Meriber CCNA Member ccna 8 Goa THE SCUGOG CITIZEN an independently owned and operated weekly community newspaper, is distributed, free of charge, to over 13,500 homes and businesses in and around Scugog Township. ComTRouLLD 54 WATER ST., PORT PERRY, ONT. L9L1J2 Phone : (905) 985-6397 Fax : (905) 985-1410 CCNA Verified Subscriptions sold outside Scugog Township "Proud Canadians, prod to call Scugog Township home." GUEST COLUMN Oldest profession by Doug Ferris Little girls do not usually dream of growing up to become prostitutes, but that could change in Toronto. On Monday June 26, Toronto City Council voted to map out one more career choice for Ontario's children. In addition to becoming professionals, skilled trades people, or industry and retail employees, Toronto City Council has decided that little girls should enjoy employment equity in the "world's oldest profession" without facing either moral stigma or legal action. Some councilors even want to be able to point to the district on the tourist map: a burgeoning sector of small businesses in Toronto where women sell their bodies and thejr sexual services as if these were commodities manufactured for the purpose of resale. In the dream world of Toronto City Council, the new Red Light District would be a carefree zone of tourists and Torontonians on their day off enjoying the weather, the sights, ice cream, and a little piece of each other. Councillors have, they say, the best interests of the prostitutes in mind. Pimps say the same thing. Under the current situation, Councillors face a moral dilemma: they cannot enforce the status quo, and they cannot change it without decriminalization. Pimps face the same proble em. Councillors propose that, with decriminalization, Toronto's prostitutes will receive better health services, cleaner working conditions, and protection fromtheirclients. Pimps offer the same services. Council vehemently opposes the youth sex trade and forced sex. So do pimps. | This increase in social services would come at no cost to the tax payer. As small business proprietofs, prostitutes would pay the government for their protection, in the form of taxes. Just like pimps. Everywhere in Ontario pimping unions must be kicking themselves for their shortsightedness: rather than trying to hide their activities from the law, they should have applied for decriminalization years ago and enjoyed the recognition that comes with the services they provide. Or they could have run for City Council. Apparently, their professional expertise is valued at City Hall. City Council's myopic reasoning fails to perceive the long term costs of decriminalizing prostitution. First, experience in other cities demonstrates that decriminalization will not reduce or protect the trade, it will legitimize, increase and diversify it. Brothels will not replace streetwalking, they will simply add to it. Deefiminalization will attract more customers, or "johns" to Toronto, and the sex trade will both normalize and increase. Second, an increased demand for services will require more prostitutes. The hidden victims will not be the prostitutes of today but the children who run to escape tragic situations of abuse at home, or street kids, or women who never knew there were other opportunities for them in life. The greatest loss are not the dreams that will die, but those that will never be born. Third, associated crime will increase, not decrease. The idealists at City Hall overlook the fact that some criminals do not want to become legiti fe Is. Drug traffickers, pimps, and others who feed off of prostitution will seek other ways and means of exploiting the new system and the women ensnared in it. It will provide them with ample opportufiity. The current lap dancing controversy in Toronto demonstrates that people who profit, either sexually or financially, from the sexdJgade will never be satisfied with legal constraints. Fourth, the long term costs to the are i Teulahl THE HARRIS GOVERNMENT 4 GETS RID OF PHOTO - RADAR. REPLACING I(T WITH SOMETHING EVEN MORE EFFECTIVE! THAT'S RIGHT ROBIN. THE RIDDLER WiLL JUST HAVE TO WAIT... WEVE GOT COTTAGE BOUND TRAFAC TO DEAL "> LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Parkland should not be sold To the Editor: As a result-of our recently published letter we have had a number of inquiries as to the status of the sale of the, "Welcome to Blackstock Park" in north end Blackstock. I will attempt to update you here. Fred Ford attended a Recreation Committee meeting at Blackstock Rec Centre. At that meeting he asked Mrs. Pearce about the promised survey regarding the sale of the Park. Mrs. Pearce replied that a survey had been completed, but that she did not know by whom and that the results had not been recorded but it had shown low usage of the park. Mr. Ford suggested that another public meeting be held to really survey the issue of the sale of the parkland and not just the upgrading of the fairgrounds. Mrs. Pearce suggested that Mr. Ford conduct the meeting since she did not hitve the time. The meeting was called and was well attended.| Mrs. Pearce was unable to attend since there was also an Arenay Board Council cannot anticipate even the monetary costs to services such as health care, and law enforcement. In addition, they need to consider the physical, psychological, and spiritual costs to the esteem and dignity of the prostitute, the "john" and to the community at large that endorses this practice. Finally, decriminalization of prostitution should be resisted || simply because it is morally wrong. Council argues that current laws cannot stop the practice. Current laws on homicide don't stop people from killing each other, either, but that doesn't mean we should decriminalize murder. There is a huge difference between a society which recognizes that sexual exploitation will always take place, in spite of efforts to reduce it, and a community which actually condones the exploitation, commercialization, and objectification of women, regagidless of the motive. How a community reacts to crime with! Turn to e nine g that night and sthce she had missed the last three meetings she felt that she should attend this one. Mayor Hall did attend our meeting and we were invited to present our point of view to Council. We presented to Council along with another special interest group, Minor Ball. Our point of view was that this parkland had been forced upon the developer by a previous, forward thinking Council, and that it should remain as parkland and be developed for some recreational purpose. Minor Ball said that the only purpose served by the park was for people to walk their dogs and that an additional didmond was necessary because the children had to practice in farmers' fields. Before the bulk had cooled on the overhead projector Council voted unanimously to undertake to convert the park from Public Use Recreational Land to Hamlet Residential. It very quickly became apparent that there was room for only one ball diamond at the fair grounds and that although Cartwright Ball had insisted that there be two diamonds or they would not support the effort that this was not really the case. At the Cartwright Minor Ball Annual Meeting Kevin Balser asked that-even if they could not fit in two diamonds that they still support the effort. Ron Martyn replied that this had always been the plan and that the reason they had insisted on the two diamond concept was to, "politically expedite Mrs. Pearce's efforts." The original argument that more diamond time was needed for the kids to practice was disproved this Spring when an Adult, not a league, Baseball Association was formed and took over the prime Saturday morning kids practice time. The argument had been that no adults would take time on the weekends to work with the kids, but apparently they have the time to play themselves. In the meantime a jobsOntario grant was to have been d. To our knowledge, for whatever reason, this was not done. This means, of course, that there will be a funding shortfall to improve Blackstock Fairgrounds even if the park is sold. To add to this problem there is also some talk of acquiring additional lands to expand the fairgrounds parking. 'Who knows from where this funding will be obtained. A decision was made by Council to no longer maintain the park and to their credit the neighbours have kept the grass mown. This has enabled the T- Ball baseball teams to continue to use it for practices. As soon as objections to this zoning change were submitted an Ontario Municipal Board meeting was applied for by Council and will be held on August 15, 1995. Fred Ford went to Mayor Hall in an attempt to have the matter mediated and to come up with some solutions. This could have preempted a full blown OMB hearing but Parks and Recreation refused to meet with us and now we are still faced with an expensive hearing that no one will win. The new Council was requested, in writing, by us, to ,hold a recorded vote and to d h or i this zoning g We have heard two stories. One is that it was never voted on and the other is that there was a unanimous vote for the sale of the property. Council's decision to spend $73,000. to supply water, from an already strained eapacity water system, to these three lots in order to overcome some of the objections shows how bull- headed they can be. There are around 50 lots in the immediate area for sale. Some by people desperate to get them sold at sacrifice prices. Turn to page nine