The appellant was convicted of living on the avails of prostitution after working at an escort agency.
He challenged the constitutionality of s. 195(2) of the Criminal Code, which creates a presumption that a person living with or habitually in the company of prostitutes is living on the avails of prostitution.
The Supreme Court of Canada held that while the presumption infringes the right to be presumed innocent under s. 11(d) of the Charter, it is a reasonable limit demonstrably justified under s. 1.
The provision targets the exploitative activity of pimps and represents a minimal impairment of the presumption of innocence given the difficulty of obtaining evidence from vulnerable prostitutes.
