Swingers get Supreme Court approval

For those who wanted Canadian Corner to take a break from politics, don't blame me if you don't want to hear about swingers.

In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that group sex among consenting adults is neither prostitution nor a threat to society.

The Court lifted a ban on so-called “swingers” clubs. “Consensual conduct behind code-locked doors can hardly be supposed to jeopardize a society as vigorous and tolerant as Canadian society,” said the opinion of the majority, written by Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin.

The decision was a grand victory for Jean-Paul Labaye, a Montreal man who ran the L’Orage (Thunderstorm) club. Labaye had been convicted in 1999 of running a “bawdy house” — defined as a place where prostitution or acts of public indecency took place.

Also from the decision, in indecency cases, Canadian courts have traditionally probed whether the acts in question “breached the rules of conduct necessary for the proper functioning of society.” The Supreme Court ruled that from now on, judges should pay more attention to whether society would be actively harmed.

There are about 400 listed swingers club in North America, about 35 of which are in Canada, according to the North American Swing Club Association. They exist in almost every major Canadian city from Halifax to Vancouver.

I can tell you that while some Americans might be shocked, the Canadian view is much more laid-back when it comes to sexual activity among consenting adults. Some Canadians likely view this like prudish Americans, but the overall Canadian feeling is that society is not actively harmed.