In November 2014, Canada passed the “Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act”, a legislative response to the Supreme Court decision in Canada v. Bedford (2013). This new law frames the practice of sex work as violence against women and, following the Nordic Model, attempts to abolish it by criminalizing clients of sex workers and various practices associated with sex work. Some contend that this legal approach to sex work is a paternalistic, double standard for sex workers; whereas non-sex workers are deemed autonomous agents that choose legitimate and legally protected work, the Canadian government views sex work as inherently exploitative and sex workers as always exploited. Drawing on Kathi Weeks’s chapter “Mapping the Work Ethic”, relevant course material, case facts from Bedford, and the Department of Justice’s technical paper on the new Canadian legislation, write a 2000 word essay on whether you think Canada’s new abolitionist model constitutes unfair treatment of sex workers or if the legislation is justified in protecting vulnerable populations from harm. Weeks’s chapter appears in our course pack, and a pdf of Canada v. Bedford (2013), as well as the Department of Justice paper on Bill C-36 is posted on CU Learn.