Not as forgiving as elsewhere in Canada
If the John’s School program allows clients to walk away without charges elsewhere in the country, the Quebec version will not be as lenient.
The pilot project of “diversion of the obtaining of sexual services” will not allow the intended clients to completely escape justice.
Men who defy the law by paying for sex will be formally charged, but through an alternative measures program they can avoid a criminal record. And to do this, they must above all recognize their responsibility.
“There will be the laying of charges, and if there is fulfillment of the measures, there will be a dismissal of the charges,” explained the Crown prosecutor designated in Longueuil as part of the pilot project, Me Ève Malouin.
erase traces
Thus, unlike in other provinces, where the client in question avoids having his name entered on a court roll displayed at the courthouse or in a public court register, anonymity is not guaranteed given the formal filing of charges. But once they are dismissed, offenders can have all traces of their passage through the justice system erased.