Deborah Waddington
13237 Warden Avenue
Stouffville, Ontario
L4A 7X5

Natalie Des Rosiers
President
Law Commission of Canada
11th Floor, 473 Albert St.
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0H8

July 10, 2003

Re: Support letter for Andrew Sorfleet's proposal:
$ex, Work, Education, Advocacy & Research!

I was very excited to read the proposal for Andrew Sorfleet's new project titled "$ex Work, Education, Advocacy & Research!". Sex workers in Toronto, and Canada, have repeatedly asked that legal and occupational health and safety legislation be changed to make their work places safe. Unfortunately, their concerns have not been addressed. What is interesting about Mr. Sorfleet's proposal is that it has excellent potential to build the capacity of the sex work community to begin to address their own needs.

Mr. Sorfleet has an accomplished career of developing and producing innovative, relevant community-based research and resources. As Resource Coordinator for the Toronto Public Health Sexual Health Program I know that our organization has made good use of these materials. Research projects such as Report on Assessing the Need to Reduce Drug-Related Harm Among Prostitutes and M is for Mutual, A is for Acts have helped us, during our recent program redesign, to assess the needs of our high-risk populations. Mr. Sorfleet's street-based info cards and safer sex promo packages have been used by our frontline workers as a means of making connections on the street; and their format has been much copied by agencies across Toronto.

What makes Mr. Sorfleet's efforts outstanding is his unique blend of skills: he has a remarkable ability to work with disenfranchised people, an incisive intellect, and a superb sense of craftsmanship. As a strong leader with an engaging way of working, he uses fun and intelligence to help motivate individuals toward a common goal. He is also a craftsman of the highest calibre who thoughtfully attends to every detail of his published projects. These projects mediate between the academic realm and that of the street by drawing upon cultural reference and historical fact to provide a context for information, and as a launching point for discovering new trajectories.

I will be delighted to act as an advisor for this project and, by doing so, expect to be greatly enriched both personally and professionally.

Yours sincerely,

Deborah Waddington, A.O.C.A.D.
Resource Coordinator, Toronto Public Health