'Do we want brothels in Newmarket?': Council to tackle issue of body rub parlours

Parlours are often fronts for prostitution, charity founder and former victim of human trafficking says

Yorkregion.com
April 27, 2021
Lisa Queen

Two decades ago, as part of their prayer walks, members of Newmarket’s Alive Church would pray outside the industrial building housing the now-defunct Lookers strip club and ask for God’s help in shutting the business down.

It took a few years, and not only did the strip joint close, but the church bought and moved into the building at 145 Pony Dr.

“We did not feel it was a healthy business to have in our town,” Andrew Wyns, then-pastor of the church said in 2014 in advance of his retirement.

“This church has been famous for going around praying over things we think are good, and praying against things we don’t think are good. We’d pray around this building, but never thought we’d buy it. A place that used to wreck marriages now builds them.”

Wyns, whose son Philip took over as pastor along with his wife Lisa, is father of Coun. Grace Simon, a member of the church who took part in the prayer walks.

These days, members of the congregation are praying Newmarket will vote to ban body rub parlours in town, an issue expected to come back to council on May 3.

“Absolutely (we are praying). We have members who pray for specific things like body rub parlours -- I don’t think anyone’s prayers are, like, ‘We condemn.’ Sometimes, churches are seen, when they stand up against things, as being an angry mob or taking this really angry or unkind, uneducated (stand),” Lisa Wyns said.

“We always pray God’s best into the community. We want to see Newmarket growing as a safe, family-driven community. And so, we would see these parlours as being harmful, harmful to young girls, an open door to human trafficking --. As a church, we would see it as sinful. We believe that sin brings harm to the soul. That’s our main thing, we want to see people’s souls healthy. When someone has a healthy soul, that is the centre of your mind, will and emotions.”

The church works with girls and women who have been trafficked for sex, and links them with resources in the community, such as BridgeNorth, a Newmarket charity supporting girls, women and families affected by sex trafficking.

 

Founder Casandra Diamond is reserving her comments on how she wants council to vote on body rub parlours until the community weighs in.

But as a former victim of human trafficking, she stressed the public needs to be aware body rub parlours are often fronts for prostitution.

“What we’re really saying is do we want brothels in Newmarket? ... The reality is what are we going to do about prostitution, and are we going to continue to lie to the public that it’s really a massage when we know full well it’s not?” she said.

“There’s one thing that’s the same between then and now. Women that are in strip clubs and massage parlours are women that are disadvantaged compared to those that are purchasing them.”

Simon said she will listen to the community before deciding how to vote on body rub parlours.

But she makes no secret that she sees similarities between the abuse inflicted on many exotic dancers at clubs like Lookers and the prostitution many workers at body rub parlours are forced into.

“I don’t want a brothel in Newmarket. As a councillor, I will not support a brothel. They are known for being hosts for human trafficking. I will not put my name to anything that I know that has a history of producing human trafficking,” she said.

“We are now in 2021, where girls and women want respect, decency, (to be) treated equally, equal paying jobs. Me, as a councillor is advocating, me as a mom of four -- and I have two girls of my own -- is advocating for women’s rights, equality, dignity. A place like that is not upholding or supporting dignity of women, it’s not.”