A Conservative MP has apologized for asking a female NDP colleague if she has considered sex work, something he says was meant to make a point about the nature of prostitution.

The moment occurred Tuesday afternoon during a debate on an Opposition motion calling on the House of Commons to condemn a recent decision by the Parole Board of Canada. Officials granted Eustachio Gallese, a man convicted of killing his female partner in 2004, day parole and permission to meet with women to satisfy his sexual needs.

Last month, he arranged to meet 22-year-old sex worker Marylne Levesque in a Quebec City hotel room. He is now charged with second-degree murder in her death.

Arnold Viersen, who represents Albertas Peace River-Westlock, delivered a speech in the Commons railing against sex work as inherently dangerous and demeaning. He called Levesques death one more example of the preventable violence that women and girls face across Canada by men who view them as nothing more than an object, a commodity to be bought and sold.

Shame on you

NDP MP Laurel Collins, who represents Victoria, responded by asking the Tory backbencher to listen to the voices of sex workers who say that sex work is work. She said the prostitution laws passed by the previous Conservative government in 2014 criminalized the work environments that allow sex workers to feel safe.

Bill C-36 criminalized the purchasing and advertising of sex, while decriminalizing its sale. Sex workers complained the rules makes their lives more dangerous by pushing them underground. Sex workers are challenging the law, saying it violates their Charter rights to the security of the person.

Collins asked Viersen if he felt the law was a factor in Levesques death, and many others.

I would just respond to that by asking the honourable member across the way if its an area of work that she has considered and if that is an appropriate Viersen responded before trailing off.

Shame. Shame on you! an MP could be heard yelling.