Hey. Whatever happened to Dana and Sasha? Or December?

Barrie Should License Massage Parlours (Source:Barrie Examiner, Nov 14, 2009)

Why does Barrie have a dozen or so body-rub parlours when city bylaws ban them everywhere?

Because it's the oldest profession, that's why. And sex sells, where it's legal or not.

So what city officials should do is make the best of an inevitable situation, and attempt to regulate the massage parlours.

Not having a city zone -- commercial, industrial, etc. -- which allows body-rub parlours isn't good enough. Ignoring the problem won't make it go away, either.

The city hasn't ignored other aspects of the sex trade.

Barrie escort agencies, the escorts and drivers are all supposed to be licensed, to make sure everyone is of legal age and nobody has a criminal record.

All Barrie escort agencies aren't licensed, and neither are all the escorts. But many of them are, which is considerably better than none, which is the situation with massage parlours.

City strip clubs and the dancers are also licensed, for the same reasons as the escort industry: to make sure everything is nice and legal.

So it just makes sense to regulate and license the body-rub parlours, too.

They're not going away. If anything, there will be more as the city's population continues to grow.





Some city officials say illegal massage parlours are a police matter. Communication for the purpose of prostitution is a criminal offence.

The problem is gathering evidence when these activities go on behind closed doors. As Barrie Police Chief Wayne Frechette points out, "Nobody goes into these places kicking and screaming".

City police say arrests are uncommon on the charge of operating a common bawdy house. Charges are rarely laid, in part because the sentences handed out by our courts don't warrant the police manpower required to make arrests.

In short, it really isn't worth police time to lay charges on what's going on between consenting adults.

That's not to say police don't respond to citizen complaints about body-rub parlours. They do, just like any other complaint. And police do keep an eye on these establishments.

But massage parlours are hardly a priority with city police, as Frechette says. Police have their hands full with more serious crimes, some of them also in the sex trade.

Just this past week, for example, Barrie police arrested 15 males and charged them with communication for the purpose of prostitution. Eight suspected hookers face the same charges, as a result of a police street crime unit operation.

Frechette's position about body-rub parlours in Barrie is simple: would citizens rather have this go on in private or in outdoor, public areas?

The bottom line is if this consensual, adult exchange is going to take place regardless of the zoning and criminal laws in place, every effort should be made to regulate it so that body-run parlour employees and customers have some protection.

Make the parlour owners get an annual business license, and give them a zone in which to locate. Make their employees get annual licences, which will require proof that they are of age (19 or older) and that they are Canadian citizens.

It won't work for every massage parlour or even all of their employees. But it will work for some, and that's better than what Barrie has now.

Sticking our heads in the sand and pretending body-run parlours don't exist because they're not allowed doesn't cut it anymore.


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Barrie police arrest suspected crack dealers, prostitutes Last Updated: Thursday, November 22, 2007 | 9:14 AM ET The Canadian Press

Police rounded up dozens of suspected crack dealers and hookers Wednesday in Barrie, Ont., following a two-month undercover sting operation called Project Stone Cold.

Police charged 21 people with trafficking cocaine and five people with soliciting prostitution.

They also shut down five massage parlours, and identified 11 residences they say are known crack houses.

The investigation began Sept. 20, targeting the sale of crack cocaine and sex on city streets, and illegal massage parlours.

During the operation, officers purchased crack cocaine, procured prostitution and attended various massage parlours in Barrie to collect evidence and identify suspects.

Police said Wednesday night they were still searching for 11 other people with outstanding arrest warrants.

"This is definitely one of our biggest projects in the last decade," Sgt. Dave Goodbrand said.

Chief Wayne Frechette commended his officers on the massive operation, but said he knows the arrests are just the tip of the iceberg.

"I'm enough of a realist to see this is not going to have a colossal impact in the cost of cocaine, or that these people will have a big epiphany tonight," Frechette said. "We're not naive to think this will have a lasting impact — most of these people will be out on bail before the week's out."

Some suspects also have links to organized crime, police said, including the Hells Angels and Toronto Driftwood Crips street gang.

The roundup began at 6 a.m. and continued throughout the day, Goodbrand said. There were no issues with any of the arrests, and most were made by a knock on the door or intercepting suspects while they went to work.

"It's like a big lineup at a concert — you have to keep working your way through it," Goodbrand said. "This is just one of many steps."

In total, there were 28 Criminal Code charges and 81 charges under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

"It's no secret that Barrie has an issue with cocaine," Goodbrand said. "It's never going to go away, but we have to work to control it."

Twenty-one Barrie residents, ranging in age from 21 to 59, were charged with trafficking cocaine.

Police also identified 11 Barrie homes linked to the sale and distribution of crack cocaine.

Four Barrie women and woman from Bradford, Ont., were charged with communication for the purpose of prostitution.

Police also turned out the lights in five massage parlours scattered around the city that they say were being operated illegally.

The alleged prostitutes aren't linked to the massage parlours.

Hey! Any news about that massive grow-up and the businessman behind it?

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