Legal/Illegal

[Man Mountain]

Two posts in the past 24 hours that have made me think, "Say what?!"

Driving without a license is legal, unless you are using that car to make money. Like travel to and from work.

I have not heard this before. I'm sure that if someone were to drive without a license and never did anything to get pulled over and was lucky enough to never end up in an accident (ie. getting hit by somebody else), there would never be an issue with it. But I always thought that if someone was ever caught driving without a license by the police, there would be legal consequences.

It's not illegal in Canada to be an SP, it is illegal in Canada to be a client.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong but I've heard that this is not the case but certain anti-prostitution groups WANT the laws to be changed to make this the case.

 

[Man Mountain]

I just googled and found this:

http://www.drivesmartbc.ca/driver-licencing/driving-without-licence

Driving Without a Licence
Wed, 2005-04-20 00:00 — DriveSmartBC

A reader has asked "What would happen to me if I was caught driving without a drivers licence?" It is a question that will expose serious consequences for you and the owner of the vehicle you are driving if it is not your own. I will confine my answer to the situation where you don't have a driver's licence either because you did not get one, it was expired or you did not have it properly reinstated after a suspension or prohibition.

Generally an unlicensed driver comes to my attention because they have done something to attract it. I will usually write the ticket for that infraction and query ICBC on your status as a driver. If you are unlicensed and this is the first time you have been caught, you will also receive a ticket for driving without a valid driver's licence. It will be the end of the trip as you will be prevented from driving further.

If you have had a previous conviction for driving without a driver's licence, your ICBC licence record will be flagged for a vehicle impoundment. If the flag is present when I check I am forced by the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Act to impound the vehicle that you are driving, regardless of the fact that it might not be your vehicle. If this is your first impoundment, the vehicle will be held for 30 days. If not, the impoundment will be for 60 days and responsibility for the payment of towing and storage fees is yours. Imagine having to tell the boss that his business vehicle is not going to be available for a while.

In addition to the impoundment, I will be writing another ticket for not having a valid driver's licence.

A condition of your insurance contract is that the vehicle driver must be properly licensed. If not, the contract can be considered void and coverage in the event of a collision may be refused. This can be a complicated situation and if you are interested, you should discuss if with your insurer to determine what the outcome would be.

Driving without a valid driver's licence has many pitfalls regardless of whether you do so accidentally by missing a renewal, or deliberately through personal choice. If you allow others to use your vehicle for any reason it is wise to insure that the person who will be driving it has a valid driver's licence.

Linked references on the linked page.

Edit: Obviously, this information is for those of us in BC.

 

[vancity_cowboy]

I read it in a friends law book a while back.

this was after drinking a 40-pounder of rum, right?

 

[island-guy]

Maybe what he meant was that driving without a license is not a criminal offense in the Criminal Code of Canada?

Doesn't mean that there isn't a provincial law against it with civil penalties.

 

[nd1]

Say What?? Indeed!

It's not illegal in Canada to be an SP, it is illegal in Canada to be a client.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong but I've heard that this is not the case but certain anti-prostitution groups WANT the laws to be changed to make this the case.

http://dsp-psd.tpsgc.gc.ca/Collection-R/LoPBdP/CIR/822-e.htm#athedevelopmenttxt
"The actual act of exchanging sexual gratification for a consideration (between adults) has never been criminally illegal in Canada. The criminal law did, and does, however, deal with activities related to prostitution which are deemed a threat to public order or offensive to public decency."

http://cmte.parl.gc.ca/Content/HOC/...p2599932/justrp06/10-chap4-e.htm#TOCLink_10_3
"In any discussion of Canada’s legislative history, it must be noted that adult prostitution has always been legal. Nonetheless, adult prostitution 'has been, and continues to be, attacked indirectly' through prostitution-related nuisance and exploitation laws. Canada’s prostitution laws have evolved from social and moral reform movements of the time, ranging from those who sought to treat prostitutes as victims in need of protection to those who sought the elimination of prostitution through a moral or criminal justice approach."

 

[Ride My Mustache]

(iii) section 148 (sexual intercourse with feeble-minded, etc.),

Oh Oh, that makes it illegal for anyone to have sex with me anymore!

...The actual age of the SP does not matter, it is the inference that can be reasonably drawn from her advertising that matters.

On a serious note, what does this say for the guy that goes to a girl who advertises as 19 or 20, but turns out to be, say, 16? Are us guys protected because she represented herself as being of legal age to sell sex?

 

[Man Mountain]

On an equally serious note, it's the client's responsibility to be absolutely certain that she is not 18 or younger. If she is 16 or younger, and the session becomes known to LE, the client is going to jail for a minimum of 5 years to a maximum of 14 years. If she is 18 or younger, the client is going to jail for a minimum of 6 months to a maximum of 5 years.

Just one point I'd like to get clarification on. You keep writing "18 or younger" but all of the sources that you've cited read "under 18". I've read on these forums on numerous occasions that 18 is within the legal bounds for a service provider. In fact, there is currently at least one paying advertiser on this site that advertises herself as 18. Can you confirm specifically which is the case?

 

[lenny]

If you are 20, you can't have sex with a person that isn't 17.

So you're saying if you are 20 or older you can sex up a 17 YO?