The provincial minister responsible for the Status of Women and Gender Equity says conversations are underway to see if Thrive’s Blue Door Program can be resurrected, but the province will not be able to fill the funding gap left by the federal government.

The program helps sex workers who wish to leave the industry, but five years of federal funding came to an end earlier this year. The Opposition has pressed the provincial government to pick up where Ottawa left off, and questioned Minister Pam Parsons in the House of Assembly again this week.

Minister Parsons says they’ve met with Thrive to find new sources of funding, but the $500,000 dollar ask can’t come from the Department of Women and Gender Equality.