City of Winnipeg looking at licensing rules around sex work
The City of Winnipeg wants to drop fees for people in the sex industry in the hopes more will get licensed, but at least one councillor says the plan won't work.
A report from city hall claims a new bylaw should lower the fee for escorts and body rub practitioners from $371 to $25 in an effort to knock down barriers to licensing.
According to the report, only 52 practitioner and escort licenses are issued right now.
The report said licensing contributes to the safety, health and protection of workers. The new bylaw would require workers to be part of information sessions on where to access health and social services as well as community policing.
The bylaw would also mandate other employees at these businesses be registered, so the license branch has information about them.
"This will make it harder to groom, influence, or pressure these workers to become body rub practitioners or escorts," states the report.
But City Protection Committee Chair and Councillor Sherri Rollins said the bylaw does not do enough to tackle counter exploitation and grooming and worries the approach is more punitive towards the sex workers than it is about safety.
Rollins said the fee isn't the barrier, it's a concern by those in the industry about being under surveillance if they get licensed and registered.
"This law denotes harm for people," said Rollins. "If I stick up my hand, am I going to be stigmatized by just doing something that is lawful?"
Rollins is bringing forward a motion to the Mayor's Executive Policy Committee this week to have the public service redo the bylaw by consulting escorts and body rub practitioners to see what would make the industry safer.
"Don't intentionally make people vulnerable by excluding them from the conversation at all," said Rollins
The proposed bylaw would also eliminate criminal record checks for escorts and practitioners to encourage licensing, mandate CCTV camera systems in parlour reception areas and require panic buttons in rooms used by practitioners.
The report also recommends a review of zoning rules that prohibit body rub parlours and escort agencies from operating outside Downtown.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 mm among weather alerts in effect for 7 provinces
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 millimetres, air quality advisories and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces, according to the latest forecasts.
King Charles calls for acts of friendship in first public remarks since Kate's cancer diagnosis
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
A fight to protect the dignity of Michelangelo's David raises questions about freedom of expression
Michelangelo's David has been a towering figure in Italian culture since its completion in 1504. But in the current era of the quick buck, curators worry the marble statue's religious and political significance is being diminished.
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.