The issue of body rub parlours have again been brought up at city hall.
City administration has tabled their report to executive committee about how to regulate body rub parlours in Regina. Many delegates came to city hall to oppose the report, saying they want an outright ban of body rub parlours.
Mayor Michael Fougere said there is a general consensus on both sides of the debate.
“I would say that everyone is looking to protect the vulnerable worker in these establishments,” Fougere said. “That is I think the unifying concern, is how do we deal with that; is it to ban them or to licence them, to regulate them?”
However Devon Hill, a member of freedom catalyst, said more consultation needs to be done.
“There are at least three other cities or municipalities in Canada that have banned massage parlours,” Hill said. “One being Prince Albert, Steinbach Manitoba, (and) Dauphin Manitoba, they were not consulted or discussed to see how that’s going in their communities.”
Fougere said he is personally still undecided on the matter.
“I see strength in both arguments,” Fougere said. “To ban them or to regulate them, both have very strong arguments because they approach the issue of safety for the worker as fundamentally important, and the issue for me comes down to what is the best way to do that.”
The final decision on the body rub parlour debate will be made at city council on June 24th.
