It is truly interesting to read the perceptions and stereotypes of the world's oldest profession on here and the very harsh judgement of both those who buy and those who sell sex (diseased, desperate, mechanical, etc.). I don't know if you all think that the only prostitutes out there are the 10 crack whore types, or you are aware that there are higher class call girls out there.
My opinion is that as long as both parties are over the age of 18 and no-one is being co-erced into it, then I am all for it. In Canada, prostitution is actually legal, solicitation is illegal. What that boils down to is that an escort that you call and comes to your hotel or residence (an outcall) is perfectly legal. A woman that solicits business on the street is illegal, as is a woman who has clients coming to her house (can make for a nuisance for the neighbours in a residential area).
Living in Toronto, the sex industry here is huge and frankly, it makes for a better place to live. The police by and large don't waste valuable resources playing morality enforcers (ever seen "Cops" where they regularly end the show by busting hookers or their clients for the ratings?) and I truly believe that legalized prostitution gives men who are hard up an outlet for their pent up sexual desires. I am a member of the Camilia Paglia school of thought that rape is a crime of sex and not a crime of power as many would want us to believe and as such, a hard up man can be (though definitely not always) a dangerous man.
Massage parlours are also legal in Toronto and are in fact licensed by the City of Toronto as "Body Rub Parlours" at a cost of about 10 grand a year. Massage Parlours typically do not do sex (nor oral), though they are obviously sexual. They advertise both in print and on the internet and are regulated by bylaw enforcement.
To name but a few:
http://www.torontoplatinumspa.com/
http://alluremassage.ca/
http://www.royalspa.ca/
http://handsfromheaven.ca