Politics

[just2enjoy 1621]

Yesterday CKY News aired a story regarding political pressure being put on city council regarding Massage Parlour Locations. Broadway's was featured, the complaint was that these type of businesses shouldn't be located near schools and children. In fact, they were indicating the same guidelines should be used as Adult Video Stores. Nearly all the mp's have been in place for a very long time, and most are near schools.

[Guest W***ledi*Time]

Bartley Kives reports for the Free Press, 8 Jan 2011:

 

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/massage-parlour-site-irks-centre-113126784.html

The city [of Winnipeg] has been asked to regulate the location of massage parlours following complaints from a West Broadway community centre about kids getting approached for sex by men outside a nearby business.

 

On Tuesday, Fort Rouge Coun. Jenny Gerbasi will present the city centre community committee with a motion to ask city zoning and permit experts to determine whether the city can determine the location of massage parlours.

 

Under existing rules, massage parlours can legally operate in any commercial area, provided they obtain a personal-service licence for $4,150 a year. Only three massage parlours are licensed in Winnipeg.

 

But there is nothing to prevent a massage parlour from operating near a community centre, school or other place where children or teens gather. Gerbasi would like to see them subject to a public hearing process and face the same public scrutiny as other contentious businesses such as pawn shops and cheque-cashing facilities.

 

"Theoretically, a pawn shop can go to the administration and be approved without any community input," Gerbasi said Friday. "There are no rules about where they can go."

 

Gerbasi created her motion at the behest of the Broadway Neighbourhood Centre, several community groups that operate out of the Young Street facility and also Art City, which all share a back lane with Broadways, a business that operates at 610 Broadway.

 

Several of the Broadway Neighbourhood Centre programs cater to children and teens, some of whom have complained about being approached and propositioned by men outside the nearby business, said BNC program manager Lawrence (Spatch) Mulhall.

 

"That place has been there longer than I've lived in Winnipeg. I don't think it's gang-controlled or operated and I have no problem with what goes on inside," Mulhall said.

 

"The problem lies with the exterior. We have 12-year-old girls who are as tall as me and we have guys driving around who don't have the courage to go inside the (massage parlour) building.

 

"The kids are really young and they should not be exposed to that stuff."

 

Mulhall said there have also been instances where children on the centre grounds have witnessed nudity across the back lane, as a deck built for an aborignal head-start program faces the rear windows of the nearby business.

 

The operator of Broadways has been responsive to all complaints, noted Mulhall. He said he does not want to be judgmental but had no choice but to speak out.

 

Mulhall said he witnessed a police raid on the establishment last summer. The city could not confirm this event, but a city spokeswoman said one person was charged with being nude on the premises in January 2010 and later convicted.

 

The owner of the business received two charges of allowing people to be nude on the premises but has pleaded not guilty, the city spokeswoman added. A court date is slated for October, she said.

The owner of the business is on vacation and was not available to comment Friday, a manager at Broadways said.

 

Gerbasi's motion calls for city zoning and permits staff to consider regulating massage parlours and then report to council's property and development committee.

 

The motion is likely to pass, as fellow committee member Harvey Smith (Daniel McIntyre) has been a longtime massage parlour opponent.

 

"Let me tell you, I don't want massage parlours, period," Smith said.

 

Gerbasi, however, does not want to eliminate licensed massage parlours, which harm-reduction advocates consider safer work environments than unlicensed parlours.

 

TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

 

Broadways, at 610 Broadway, is located in the white building on the right. It sits across the alley from the Broadway Community Centre, left. Children who attend the community centre have witnessed nudity and have been approached by men, the program manager says.

[Megan'sTouch 23875]

Kids being approached for sex? I doubt it, but maybe I'm just not "in the know."

 

This kind of thing always pisses me off because it suggests that sex workers and people who pay for sexual services are somehow dangerous to children. Most of my clients are fathers, and many sex workers are mothers!

[Miss Scarlett 25073]

Is this in the right section? Should it not be in the news category???

[rexx 531]

I'm sure the councillor knows that under the current laws there will never be a new Massage Palor license granted in Winnipeg anyway so its just a publicity thing the place has been there for 40 years

[pjrd 324]

all the massage parlours in Winnipeg are liscenced and their present locations are grandfathered in. The new bylaws require a parlour to be a certain distance from play grounds, schools, churches and residential areas. You can start a new one but only in certain locations.

The article is a bunch of crap to even say Broadways is the source of perverts hitting on kids in the area.

[JethroBedrosian 104]

I certainly can't prove this, but my opinion is that guys looking to pay for sex in a massage parlour, and guys looking to pick up a girl from a playground or school are two different, almost mutually exclusive groups.