Vaughan to appeal Ontario court ruling that allows nudity in body rub parlours, extended hours

YorkRegion.com
May 7, 2014
By Jeremy Grimaldi

Vaughan plans to appeal a court decision to strike down part of its groundbreaking body rub parlour bylaw.

Ontario Court Justice Rhonda Shousterman agreed with the complainant, Vaughan Spa owner Eric Tsui, who took exception to being ticketed by police for allegedly keeping his establishment open after the prescribed hours of the bylaw, which allowed such venues to remain open until 10 p.m. Monday to Friday, 6 p.m. Saturdays and 5 p.m. Sundays.

In her judgment, Justice Shousterman wrote that the city, through its bylaw, is attempting to legislate prostitution, which is within the scope of criminal law, not municipal bylaws, to regulate.

The justice also found the rules dictating hours of operation to be discriminatory based on how late adult entertainment venues, including strip clubs, are allowed to be open.

One example includes Concord’s Whisky A Go-Go, an adult entertainment club that closes at 2 a.m.

Justice Shousterman writes that the sections of the bylaw dealing with nudity, including limiting what workers are wearing when interacting with customers, should also be quashed because they, too, are “within the scope” of criminal law rather than city bylaws.

“I do not say that body rub parlour attendants should be clothed or not,” Justice Shousterman stated. “In my opinion, that is an issue for the attendant and no attendant should be required and/or obliged to provide services partially clothed or unclothed unless he or she is comfortable with the same.”

The city’s bylaw can be traced back to 1997 when Vaughan council requested a report be brought forward in order to discuss options on controlling body rub parlours, which were spreading across the city and region.

In Vaughan, police estimated there were 23 body rub parlours a decade ago.

At the beginning of the 2000s, a bylaw dealing with various issues including the location of body rub parlours, advertising, cleanliness, dress, who may be hired and what services may be performed was put in place.

The report to council stated: “Individuals have expressed that they have found large groups of adult males frequent some establishments mostly in the early hours of the morning hours. Should ‘ladies of the night’ be operating in these establishments, the hour of restriction bylaw will take the ‘night away from the ladies of the night’.”

As a result, the five establishments licensed operating in Vaughan were forced to do so within strict boundaries, far away from public view, such as in commercial industrial areas.

The ruling states that the dress requirements of the bylaw does not merely require a uniform to identify the attendant, such as a uniform may identify a “tow truck driver” to wear, but goes further.

The relevant section stated: “Every attendant ... shall be clothed in a manner in which such person’s pubic area and buttocks ... and breasts be covered ... by an opaque material”, the same goes for customers.

The justice also dismissed that the rules are in place to stop the spread of communicable diseases, stating: “Requiring someone to be dressed does not protect another person from an airborne virus or bacteria”.

But Justice Shousterman said rules ensuring attendants are free from communicable disease are a valid section of the bylaw.

A letter from Dennis Mulholland from York Regional Police is later quoted, stating that “York Regional Police and your bylaw enforcement are aware that some of these establishments operate as fronts for open prostitution within your city and require frequent inspection.”

This is consistent with the history of prostitution laws in Canada, according to the document.

“If anything can be gleaned from the history of the treatment of prostitution in Canada, it is that acts of prostitution association with public nuisance and the exploitation of prostitutes by pimps are to be prohibited, but prostitution is tolerated,” the finding reads.

Since the decision, no rules are in place to control the hours of operation of any parlours in Vaughan.

Spas such as Blondies, located on Bowes Road, are open until midnight Monday through Wednesday and 4 a.m. from Thursday through Saturday.

The city had no comment, other than to say it would appeal the decision, which is slated to take effect in November.

This is not the first time these sorts of bylaws have been questioned in court. Brampton, Mississauga, Toronto and Pickering have faced similar challenges to its rules.