Calgary Massage Bylaw Change to be Debated

[Guest W***ledi*Time]

Stephane Massinon reports for the Calgary Herald, 11 Nov 2011:

[url]http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/calgary/Massage+parlour+bylaw+change+would+target+brothels/5699018/story.html[/url]

[INDENT][B]Calgary Massage parlour bylaw change would target brothels[/B]

City hall is looking at cracking down on brothels masquerading as massage parlours by changing the cityâ??s bylaw.

Police estimate there are 50 to 60 bawdy-houses operating in Calgary today, many of which are licensed parlours.

Council will debate on Monday whether to have city staff re-examine the bylaw that governs massage therapy given how much time and resources the police and city spend investigating complaints of prostitution at businesses that purport to offer massage services.

Ald. Gian-Carlo Carra said there are hot spots, such as along Edmonton Trail and Centre Street, where the city gets regular complaints.

â??The basic problem is youâ??ve got a proliferation of less than reputable massage-type services that are proliferating in certain neighbourhoods. What we want to do is . . . to differentiate between the vastly different massage services that are being offered to the citizens of Calgary,â? said Carra.

Calgary police estimate there are 50 to 60 brothels operating at any given time.

â??Itâ??s kind of like whack-a-mole. Weâ??ll shut one down, but the parties involved may well pop up somewhere else,â? said Acting Staff Sgt. Jason Walker.

An investigation into these businesses typically takes about three months, but Walker said with the vice unitâ??s resources â?? two detectives â?? bawdy-house investigations are not the first priority. Police are focusing on sexual exploitation of children, human trafficking and organized crime files with prostitution.

â??They are important, but itâ??s just one of many things we have to look at,â? said Walker.

â??Sometimes weâ??ll start engaging in an investigation and weâ??ll get a call thereâ??s a 13-year-old girl on a stroll somewhere and we have to drop everything and go look after that.â?

In the coming weeks and months, however, he said the unit will grow to six or seven detectives who will work with district officers.

â??Itâ??s going to allow us to get a lot more proactive with things like bawdy-house investigations,â? said Walker.

Marc Halat, manager of compliance services with the City of Calgary, said so far this year there have been 50 licence reviews for massage businesses.

â??A good number of those were related to â??common bawdy-houseâ?? was the complaint,â? said Halat.

â??When investigated, itâ??s determined theyâ??re not massage, theyâ??re not even relaxation therapy. Itâ??s nothing short of a common bawdy-house and we shut it down immediately.â?

The notice of motion going to council will ask city staff to review the bylaw and report back with suggestions on how to improve it in May 2012.

Halat said the bylaw mandates that massage therapists have 200 hours of massage experience, but there are no minimum time requirements for people who do reiki, aromatherapy or other forms of what the city calls relaxation therapy.

Halat said those practitioners donâ??t need criminal record checks, whereas massage therapists do.

â??That would be a really good step in the right direction if that is what (council is) looking for.â?

He suggested better reviews at the start of the licensing process could help make sure that licensed businesses are actually offering the services they claim to offer.

â??It helps remove and control the criminal element,â? said Halat.

Chandra Kastern, spokeswoman for the Massage Therapist Association of Alberta, said the current bylaw is antiquated and holds the profession back.

She favours the proposed move to review it.

â??By having less than above-board establishments operating under the same bylaw as a completely legitimate massage therapist, it absolutely tarnishes the reputation of our profession.

â??I have no doubt in my mind that at some level, it increases the risk of harm to the therapist because the public perception is that if a bawdy-house and an in-house practice are licensed under the same bylaw, whatâ??s to prevent me from asking for adult services?â?

â??The mixing of the two has not done the profession any favours.â?[/INDENT]

[Guest W***ledi*Time]

Jeremy Nolais reports for [I]Metro Calgary[/I], 8 May 2012:

[url]http://metronews.ca/news/calgary/215577/calgary-massage-parlour-bylaw-changes-rub-some-the-wrong-way/[/url]

[INDENT]City administrators have uncovered a means to designate between different massage parlours in hopes of cracking down on bawdy houses, but a proposal coming this week is rubbing some the wrong way.

A committee will discuss this week a new classification system for the parlous that would see those in good standing with one of four recognized massage associations be classified as â??massage practitionersâ? and those that are not be labeled â??body rub practitioners.â?

The latter category, which makes up just 15 per cent of Calgaryâ??s known massage therapist market, would be subject to enhanced licensing requirements, including a prohibition on operating out of a home and an annual police background check.

â??It holds them to a higher level of scrutiny,â? offered Ald. Gian-Carlo Carra, who is supportive of the move.

He and three fellow aldermen brought forward a motion to make the distinction in November, citing concerns from a number of communities that bawdy houses were being operated discretely in their neighbourhoods under the guise of a massage parlour.

[B]But some industry representatives speaking to Metro said the changes will do little good and pick on independent entrepreneurs.
[/B]
An escort turned massage therapist who would only give her name as Jessie said her membership fees with the Natural Health Practitioners of Canada Association total about $700 annually and she will likely be unable to afford a renewal next year.

She believes the proposed bylaw changes target small business and have the potential to automatically label operations like hers criminal.

â??There is nothing similar with what I used to do and what I do now,â? she added.

Details

The four recognized associations that would award a local organization the title of â??massage practitionerâ? are the Natural Health Practitioners of Canada Association, the Massage Therapists Association of Alberta, the Remedial Massage Therapists Association and the Alberta Association of Therapeutic Masseurs.

A city committee could direct administration to bring back official bylaw amendments for a vote by yearâ??s end.[/INDENT]

[Guest W***ledi*Time]

Sherri Zickefoose reports for the [I]Calgary Herald[/I], 9 May 2012:

[url]http://www.calgaryherald.com/health/City+thinks+therapy+eliminate+body+centres/6595628/story.html#ixzz1uQxBDXvg[/url]

[INDENT][B]The city wants to shine a light on shady massage parlours with a new bylaw forcing body-rub operators out of residential neighbourhoods.[/B]

The proposed rule changes will create a separate licence for registered therapists, keeping unregistered masseuses not linked to a recognized association out of city neighbourhoods.

They will also need annual police background checks and better client records.

[B]The separate licences, which a council committee debated Wednesday, would bar any new â??body-rub centresâ? from setting up close to residences, and clearly ban any such massage operations not linked to a recognized association from operating in homes.
[/B]
â??Under the guise of therapeutic massage weâ??re seeing what really are bawdy houses moving into residential communities,â? said Ald. Druh Farrell. â??It helps give us more enforcement abilities.â?

In March, police charged a Ramsay operator with keeping a common bawdy house, after southeast neighbours complained about the goings-on at Time for Massage.

â??If you have a backyard where your kids are playing in an inner-city neighbourhood and next door is some shady massage situation where people are coming and going at all times of the night, itâ??s a totally incompatible situation and thatâ??s what weâ??re addressing,â? said Ald. Gian-Carlo Carra. â??If you have a legitimate user and theyâ??re part of the neighbourhood, itâ??s no big deal.

â??The small business person is the person who takes their profession seriously and is part of a professional organization and has extensive schooling and what weâ??re doing is lifting those people up and giving them the respect they deserve.â?

Each year, city inspectors respond to complaints and conduct more than 40 licensing hearings. Bawdy houses are often linked to more sinister activities such as human trafficking.

[B]A new bylaw will be drafted by December if council approves it this month.[/B]

Massage practitioner associations have called on the city to make it easier for their members to set up home based businesses.

But provincial regulations are needed, some say. â??As we move toward provincial regulation a good number of the people licensed under the massage practitioner part of this bylaw will be exempt from the bylaw, so who is the bylaw governing at that point?â? said Chandra Kastern, a spokeswoman for Massage Therapist Association of Alberta.[/INDENT]

[Guest W***ledi*Time]

Renato Gandia reports for the [I]Calgary Sun[/I], 28 May 2012:

[url]http://www.calgarysun.com/2012/05/28/council-backs-massage-parlour-changes[/url]

[INDENT]Changes to the bylaw that will see shady massage parlours removed from residential areas will smooth the way for legitimate operators.

[B]Council members Monday approved a city plan to change Calgaryâ??s licensing system to differentiate â??massage practitionersâ? from what bureaucrats have called â??body-rub practitioners.â?[/B]

Mayor Naheed Nenshi said the move is â??actually a very big deal.â?

â??Itâ??s a really good example of red tape in the system that we actually had removed,â? he said.

â??What we have is a situation where legitimate massage therapists had to operate under the presumption that something shady was going on and they had to submit themselves to annual police checks, they had to submit themselves to annual inspection of their work place.â?

Massage practitioners are defined as members in good standing of one of the four recognized industry associations, while body rub practitioners are those with a minimum of 250 hours of training but no affiliation with a massage association.

[B]Under the new rules, body rub practitioners would be subject to enhanced licensing requirements, including a prohibition on operating out of a home and an annual police check.

They also wonâ??t be allowed to set up shop in residential areas.[/B]

Nenshi said itâ??s good that the city has figured out how to differentiate between â??the things that need a lot more regulation that cause a lot of problems in the neighbourhood and legitimate professional trying to do their work.â?

â??We donâ??t make hairdressers who operate out of their homes do that,â? the mayor said.

â??Why are we doing it to legitimate massage therapists?â?

Ald. Andre Chabot said he doubts the bylaw changes could accomplish much.

â??Honestly, I donâ??t see that this is going to change a whole lot of stuff if some of these businesses are actually operating illegally,â? he said.

Illegal massage parlours will continue to operate the way they are, he said.

Chabot said the new rules may require additional officers for enforcement.[/INDENT]