Saskatchewan stripping law nixed - with video

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BY EMMA GRANEY, THE LEADER-POST MARCH 25, 2015 9:54 PM

[URL="http://www.leaderpost.com/life/Sask+stripping+nixed/10919822/story.html"]http://www.leaderpost.com/life/Sask+stripping+nixed/10919822/story.html[/URL]

REGINA â?? Government â??made a mistakeâ? when it allowed licensed strip clubs to open in the province last year.

Before the weekly cabinet meeting Wednesday, Premier Brad Wall admitted that, and told reporters that the legislation will be repealed â??in a matter of weeks.â?

It was a decision that seemed to come out of nowhere; it was two months ago that Reginaâ??s city council turned down an application to open a strip club on Park Street.

The change means no more striptease performances or wet clothing competitions will be permitted in licensed premises, though strip clubs themselves will still be allowed.

Wall denied the decision is his government playing the role of moral police, saying â??nobody elected us to be the moralizers for the people of Saskatchewan.â?

Rather, he said, itâ??s about protecting â??those who are most vulnerableâ? when it comes to human trafficking.

If there is even a small chance of seeing â??human trafficking or the sexual exploitation of young women increase,â? Wall said, â??thatâ??s not a moral issue, thatâ??s simply something we should be about (stopping).â?

He said the same is true for the presence of organized crime in the province.

Wall referenced conversations with police, who he said indicated â??that close to 100 per cent of the clubs in Central Canada would be operated by the Hells Angels.â?

â??If this was a decision just based on, â??Does the government think someone should go to a strip club or not,â?? we probably have no business being involved in that. But, if we believe that any of those consequences are likely, even if only to a small degree, then government should act, and thatâ??s what weâ??re doing.â?

The organized crime angle was an interesting one, particularly given the history of the regulation changes.

In November 2012, when the overhaul was first announced, government made it clear that full nudity would not be permitted in licensed venues.

Then-minister responsible for the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority, Donna Harpauer, said the avoidance of full nudity at strip clubs should be enough to keep out the organized crime organizations linked to stripping in other jurisdictions.

On Wednesday, Wall admitted the decision is unlikely to have a â??huge impactâ? on the â??potential for increased human trafficking or organized crimeâ? in Saskatchewan, but said, â??Why would we risk it?â?

Why indeed said Savelia Curniski, president and founder of NASHI, an organization which campaigns against human trafficking.

She was â??delightedâ? when she heard the news Wednesday, adding that â??strip clubs absolutely open the door to human trafficking.â?

Locally, NASHI tries â??to make people aware of human trafficking and that itâ??s happening in Regina and Saskatoon and throughout the world.â?

Just this weekend the group hosted a fundraiser attended by MLA Rob Norris, in which it discussed the issue of human trafficking.

Also â??very pleasedâ? with the news was Harold Lutzer, who was a vocal opponent of the proposed strip club in Regina.

â??My concerns were about human trafficking and prostitution and protecting our women, so Iâ??m glad (Wall) has reversed his decision.â?