A10 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, September 13, 1995

Business called “ neat and tidy”

Council splits over escorts

By JEFF NAGEL
A FERVENT assault on escort
agencies would only cost the city
4 lot of money, predicts Terrace
councillor David Hull.

City councillors Val George
and Ed Graydon had suggested
the city overhaul its business
licensing bylaw to combat es:

But Hull — the city’s finance
committee chairman — opposed
that idea; arguing the city’ will
ring up a big legal bill first by
rewriting the bylaw, then later on
defending it in court.

“These littke whims of council

end up costing $5,000 or $10,000 ~

when you run it by a lawyer,”
Hull said. ‘And if you run wild
with your personal opinions and
your morals, the city’s taxpayers
will be in for a 30 or 40 or 50,000
dollar court case,”

' “Pm not going to thrust my
Personal morals — and I don’t
think council should be thrusting
its morals — on the town,’?

George contended it’s not a‘
matter of moralily, but one of
legality,

“Tf they're providing 3 a perfect-
ly legal escort service, ’ fine,’*
George said.

“Tt appears they are within the
confines: of the law,’ Hull
responded, adding the agencies
clearly know exactly where the
boundaries are.

RCMP Inspector Steve Leach
had told councillors the services
are almost impossible to prose-
cute,

“T don’t agree with it but I
don’t see what the problem is,’’
Hull added. ©

That’s because there isn’t a big
problem yet, George and
Graydon replied,

“Do you atlack it when there’s
three pages of escort services in
the Yellow Pages or do you at-

City told there’s
little to be done -
to stop escorts _

THERE'S little or nothing. the
city can do to stop the escort.
agencies now operating here.

That is now painfully clear for
city councillors who desperately
want to take action to shut down
the prostitution rings.

They were told repeatedly by
city staff ata committee meeting
last week that any efforts to
toughen up the business licensing
bylaw to fend off escorts will

likely be vetoed by the city’s law-

yers,

‘consistently, like any other busi-

ness, said city licensing director

Paul Gipps,

Any attempt to impose wnusual-
ly stringent regulations or a stiff
business licence fee will leave the
bylaw indefensible in court, he
added.

**You’ve got to be consistent,””
he said. “If no other business
class is charged $2,000, it will be
thrown out.”

The city now charges escort
agencies a $500 business licence
fee — the stiffest of any business
category.

Measures such as requiring a
criminal record check and full
identification on applicants would
have to be applied to all city
businesses, not just escorts.

For now the city will monitor
the agencies and make sure they
mect the terms of their licences.

Each escort in town must regis-
ter with city hall within 48 hours
of doing business here.

Gipps said the city can suspend
the licence of an agency that
doesn’t comply.

Staff will also investigate what:

other measures could be taken —
such as requiring full identifica-
tion be given,

Gipps said he attempted to in-

clude tighter restrictions on the |

licensing of escort agencies when
the city last revised its business

i)

tack it now when there’s only two
(agencies)?’’ Graydon demanded,

Hull pointed to the street
prostitution problem in. Prince
George, where be says condoms

and needles can be found in the |

gutters downtown,
‘Prince George is Terrace 15

years from now,”' Hull said, .

‘Quite frankly, this j is a neat and
tidy out-of-sight, out-of-mind

erate any illegal business,’’
“You've closed the door after

the horses escaped,” Leach said. |

“The thing to do is to investigate
them prior to issuing a licence,’
He advised council to have new
applicants produce identification
and then carry out criminal record
checks.
The city might have’ Brounds to

licence applicant has
prostitution-rela ted oriminal
record. —

“It’s much casier to do some-
thing at that stage than at the

Stage we're at now where you ex-

pect me to Ba and take some po-
lice action.’

Councillor Ruth Hallock and’
mayor ‘Jack Talstra did ‘Not last.

week’s meeting.

* and escorts,

‘licensing bylaw in 1990.

Escort agencies must be treated

refuse a Hence if an escort
type of business.’ a
"Tt probably isn’t bad for it to-
be kept indoors rather than outon . ae —
the sireets.”” Ed Graydon

Some councillors pointed to. eo , oP oy

Wore Overstocked!

Val George

evidence that sex is being sold.

On that basis, they said either
the RCMP should be able to take
action or the city should be
justified in placing more restric-
tions on the business.

“It shouldn’t take Einstein to
figure it out,’’ Gordon Hull sald.
‘‘Nobody’s going to pay 250
bucks an hour to go out and have
dinner with some woman.”

‘From a practical, common-
sense point of view I agree with
you,”’ said Inspector Leach. ‘‘But
from a legal point of view, no,”’

Leach said investigating escort
agencies usually requires a phone
tap, and that requires ‘reasonable
and probable grounds’’ to believe
a crime has been committed.

Even with phone-tap evidence,
he noted, there’s often nothing on
the tapes that proves communica-
tion for the purposes of prostitu-
tion, The ‘agencies often simply
arrange meelings between clients

‘We may not be able to keep
these businesses out of town,’
George conceded. ‘‘But we can
and should do everything possible.
to restrict that licence,

“TE think we can make it as dif.
ficult as possible for them to op-

Most of the measures proposed
at that time were shot down by
the lawyers, he said, |

“They chopped it all out and
said ‘here’s what you got if you
want a bylaw that will stand up in
court’,”” ;

’ Gipps based those measures on
similar restrictions in place in
Prince George and Maple Ridge.

And alihough those tougher
bylaws are still on the books
there, Gipps says those provisions
are notenforced, _

The issue blew up after city hall
issued business licences in July to
Dial-a-Doll Escorts and Execu-
tive Lace Escorts.

A representative of Dial-a-Doll .
later told the Standard sex was
being sold and quoted prices of
$250 per hour.

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