My concerns about the licensing requirements for alternative health and
massage practitioners are as follows:* It is grossly unfair to legitimate massage practitioners to place them in the same category as body rub parlours. The city would be penalising them
for doing business in Guelph.
* Body rub parlours provide erotic services – that is the sum total of their business. If doing that is against licensing rules, then why would you even need
all the other rules? If they can fake a legitimate business, why wouldn’t they just abide by all the rules as far as is visible, and have an opaque dress ready to throw on at a moment’s notice in service areas? It takes only seconds to dress or undress.
* If these regulations manage to shut down sex trade businesses calling themselves alternative health establishments, I’m sure they would open up again under some other guise.
* The requirement to keep doors to treatment areas unlocked compromises the legitimate therapist’s ability to provide for his or her client’s comfort and
security. The rule would seem to be in place to allow a bylaw officer to enter a room quickly enough to catch someone providing a sexual service. That would
also mean they could burst in on someone providing a legitimate treatment.
* To require that practitioners belong to their respective professional associations would require many practitioners to have to deal with some expensive and time consuming red tape. Many people do not belong
to associations because they do not believe the benefits to match the expense. Joining an association after being in practice for years can be difficult –
standard training may have changed, exams may have to be sat etc. It’s not fair to surprise people with this.I hope very much that council will not choose to implement the committee’s suggestions as they stand. MT