Bad News for Holistic Parlours

[AutumnWynd777]

I was going to post this in my other thread on Bylaw/LE in Etobicoke but felt it warranted it's own thread.


It seems that Bylaw and LE were busy in the east end during the month of January.

During the early part of this month they were busy back in south etobicoke.

As IL reported earlier, many body rubs and holistic places have changed their hours so that they have to close at 9 pm:

http://www.massageplanet.net.ca/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=107978

Bylaw visited all the body rub and holistic places and dropped a copy of the new changes that took effect earlier this month.

To enforce the strict 9 pm closures, bylaw and LE have paid visits to some of the massage parlours near the closing hour starting this week. I suggest that if you go ... you go earlier in the day and not book in the last hour or wait for the next day for your own safety.

Important !!!

The regulation of holistic massage places now includes that any attendent that holds a holistic license must now be screened by a reputable holistic entity. This is similar to what they did in Richmond Hill that caused the closure of all the holistic places that operated as body rubs and the many charges that were laid as "found ins" to clients.

Every license, whether to operate or work in a holistic center, will be evaluted on a case by case basis. The operators license to see if they are in effect pass for being a holistic place and not a body rub and then each attendants license who works there. Not sure about all the inner workings of this quite yet but hope to fill you in later.

On a side note I was told that this is going to be strictly enforced. So if a holistic massage parlour is operating as a body rub and gets passed the first time and gets a visit from bylaw and LE and gets caught in the act then they will be charged to the full extent of the law and will be closed down permanently, similar to Richmond Hill.

In effect you can say goodbye to any and all holistic places that operate as a cover for a body rub massage parlour, the only question being how long will they take to do it?

This is all I know for now but I am sure that we will hear a lot more on this later.

VBB

 

[Meghan M]

Interesting. I noticed that a few places around have been closing at 9pm; that's consistent...

 

[Daddy Paul]

The holistic industry that we know and love is not going to go away anytime soon, but will I think consolidate considerably. As the closings take place some things will likely change.

* Prices will slowly rise somewhat

* The new clients will not likely get any extra's until such time as the studio feels comfortable with them as being "real" clients

* The studio's and the MPA's will become more paranoid when taking a new client for extra's

* There will likely be less selection of both ladies and studio's to choose from

Just my take on it.

 

[Chula Lula]

People in the industry will not find it easy to replace their income when their spa gets closed... some will .... many will not.

Its likely that the number of incalls will grow. I dont know what will happen to prices - its hard to tell.

They can never shut down the industry.. they can only drive it underground... a poor strategy.

~ Hex

 

[Blah]

I don't really blame the city for wanting to draw a distinction between "holistic places" and "body rubs"- although I suspect their motives are somewhat less than noble. After all, if you believe in "alternative" medicine, you should have somewhere to practice it, or go for treatments. I think the real issue is the extreme limitation in the number of body rub parlours. Lift the cap on them, I say, and inspect them and regulate them properly, and there won't be a need for them to masquerade as anything else. But I'm not holding my breath. Until we evolve a society that's a little bit more manly, where men don't cringe in fear of their wives, then we will be ruled by old women (especially in Toronto). But then I'm a European, and I guess it shows.

 

[Quintus-Zadok]

Thanks for the info VBB. You seem to have a very reliable source of information. I was reading the by-laws on the weekend (great way to fall asleep) and noticed the section on hours of business, which includes the 9:00 p.m. closing was just passed in December.

There was also a section referring to the 'reputable holistic association' but I have not yet been able to figure that part out. I'll be checking it further to help out a friend in the business.

 

[mandytandy]

It means there are 13 approved by the City of Toronto Associations that both the MPA and the actual owner of the spa each must be a member of one in order to renew the license of the studio or the MPA's license. So if they want to renew their license, they must show a valid diplomia in order to be approved as a member of that association.

 

[Moose]

Thanks LG. Do you have any idea where I can find out the names or do I have to call the by-law department?

 

[emperoryt]

Part of the problem is that the college of RMT"S are lobbying heavily to be the only ones allowed to offer massage in Ontario

 

[clove1971]

Just Curious.....
Would it be possible to provide a link to those newly passed By-Laws.

Thanks.

 

[johnny_depp_fann]

If she's in the biz she should already have the letter from Licencing. There's 13 names. The place she went to for her original training cert which allowed her to get her licence can direct her to the school they are connected with.

 

[confusedcannary]

Thanks. She's got some papers that I'm going to review with her. I think the language barrier is a problem with some of the Asian spas. The city hands over a bunch of legal speak, and for somebody with only a basic understanding of English it's really difficult.

HS

 

[golden sindy]

The city web site really takes some searching. Anyway, here are some by-laws that were written as amendments to the existing laws during 2005:
http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/bylaws/2005/law0719.pdf
http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/bylaws/2005/law1016.pdf
http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/bylaws/2005/law1056.pdf

If you're really into reading, these amendments all related to licensing, chapter 545 of the municipal code, which can be found in:
http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/municode/1184_545.pdf

 

[Duke]

To Follow is the list:

The Therapeutic Touch Network of Ontario
Shiatsu Theropy Associations of Ontario
Healing Touch Association of Canada
Canadian Federation of Aromatherapists
Association of Massage Therapists and Wholistic Practitioners
The Ontario Herbalist Associations
Ontario Polarity THerapy Association
Trager Canada
Reflexology Registraton Council of Canada
Canadian Reiki Association
International Association of Rubenfeld Synergists
Examining Board of Natural Medicine Practioners
Shiatsu Diffusion Society.

Hope the information is helpful.

Best Regards
LuckyGary

 

[Chad Warden is ballin]

Thank you Horney Senior and Lucky Gary !!!

I am sure that both the members, MPAs and MP owners appreciate the links.

Some easy "lookup" things to note:



For those book worms that don't want to flip through all the pages and just want to find the section on Holistics, start at page 166, Article XI section 545-158 and ends on the top of page 180 section 545-186. Body Rubs start on page 245 Article XXXI section 545-327 and ends on page 264 section 545-361.

FYI ... Hours of operation are on page 178 for Holistics:



And on page 263 for body rubs:



Here is the link for the body rub change in hours of operation.

http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/bylaws/2005/law1055.pdf

There is a VERY strict adherance to 9 pm, 5pm Sundays and holidays, as I have been told.

Please note that Dec. 7th is a crucial day for owners and practitioners of Holistic's as there are deadlines of 3 months and 1 year to comply with documentation in regards to being accredited to one of the 13 listed professional Holistic Associations as listed in Lucky Gary's post and also found here, last page Appendix L, bylaw 1056-2005:

http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/bylaws/2005/law1056.pdf

Thanks,
VBB

 

[Deaner 2.0]

I agree with Amazing Age about proper rules that are for the benefit of all. With shorter hours I foresee long line-ups at the doors of the studios since there are so few. Does this mean some of the girls will be thinking about 'outside work' in order to make ends meet?

Perhaps with the increased licence fees the city will want to open more places. As a friend of mine in the busines said "We perform a valuable therapy. They go home happy , don't molest little children and keep off the streets after a session" This is a good thing.

 

[Smitty]

Some By-law suggest hour change affects only places with Body Rub licence, not holistics. An amendment to the amendment that somebody missed? Didn't get the memo? Phrase in approach?

 

[iluv2tradestks]

You are essentially correct. Body rubs suffer an actual loss of working hours each week, whereas holistics really have to close one hour early and have the option to open one hour earlier, therefore no effect in actual weekly hours.



I wish that was so as well, I know that some boby rubs are fighting it but it takes times for any amendment. The arguement is how can you double the annual fee and reduce our hours dramatically? Time will tell.



Lots of MPs didn't get the memo that is why it is being hand delivered by bylaw officers so that there would be no excuses later on. I also know that many MP owners didn't read the memo and some of the ones that did aren't complying with it, similar to the EBC ring the doorbell policy.



Almost, it goes something like if you are visited by Bylaw and they give you notice than you have a short time to comply. Bylaw can't visit all the places in a short time so some lee-way is given and that is where you can say the "phasing" in happens.

So the phasing in applies to the areas being covered rather than a set schedule. I added in the examples below after checking out some of the places to show that this hasn't taken effect yet in all the GTA. Below I have listed some holistics (H) and body rubs (BR) to show who is complying with the change in the hours so far (I will edit this list as I call up a few places over the next few hours).

Some of the places (over 50+ MPs) you should know about. I covered some favs and tried to cover several areas of the GTA as well to get a general idea of who is complying:

Bliss (H) just posted that they are complying starting this Monday.
Star, Lexa and Gemini (all H) have complied.
Spa Royale (H) has complied
Diamonds (H) is open until 10pm.
Some East end MPs (all H) open until 10pm.
Some Eglinton and St Clair west MPs (all H) mixed results, mostly 10pm closures.
Hollywood Spa (H) open until 10pm.
Combawa (H) is open until 10pm.
Toronto Health Center (H) is open until 10pm.
4801 Keele, 4 MPs (all H) are open past 9pm, one open much later.
A&R, Elite Retreat, T&T and Coral (all BR) have complied.
Josephines and I&P (all BR) are still open well past 9pm weekdays.
Studio 9 (BR) is open until 1 am.
High Energy (BR) is open until 1 am.
Alpha Care (BR) open until ... they never close
Some West end MPs (H and BR) open late
Blue Pearl, B&S and Platinum (all BR) are still open until 1 am.

Note: A&R is on Dundas near Jane, Coral/T&T is on the Queensway and Josephines/I&P is on the Brownsline (so is Spa Royale who has complied) ... all are within a 10 min drive radius from the intersection of Islington/Queensway and yet some are following the bylaws. Who knows why the others aren't since they have been given notice ?

My understanding is that the government failed to communicate the change in hours to the MPs in a fair amount of time and that is why we have this "not so" last minute change.

Of course once told, some body rubs were visited on the first Sunday afterwards and were asked why they were not closed at 5pm?

Another phase in approach applies more for the holistic association accreditation which will essentially reduce the number of holistic MP/As. I have heard from some MPAs who are not accredited that they will not renew their license.

Hopefully I covered all the bases.

VBB

 

[sledge250672]

so this Greek guy is causing all this trouble - we better call the boys up from mulberry street and teach this guy a lesson!!!

 

[Xavs]

I get a LOT of stuff, so it's no biggie that I received this not too long ago, some one else was supposed to verify it for me and possibly post it ... aw WTF, I'll post it and see what happens ...



This a few days later after this PM was spread around and people started checking ...



More Editting by VBB

So any truth to the matter ? Because if there isn't then it will make some people angry.

Remember just posting what I hear ... don't kill the messenger.

VBB

Post Note: I guess I know what happens now. Lets just say that if you have a comment that you can put it on the "other" board.