Police will be called to local conservation areas to deal with women who bare their
breasts only if they are flaunting their nakedness and disturbing other patrons.
That's the bottom line of a proposed policy on female toplessness being considered
by the Credit Valley Conservation (CVC) executive Friday.
"If a woman is making a spectacle of herself and causing a disturbance, then
we will tell her that the police have been called," CVC Supervisor of Field
Operations Jim Hastings said yesterday.
It will be up to police to decide if any charges should be laid when they arrive
on the scene.
The CVC has developed a policy for dealing with the topless issue in the wake of
a court ruling which says it is not illegal for a woman to take off her top in public.
The agency, which operates several conservation areas including one in Meadowvale
Village, wants to give its staff appropriate guidelines for dealing with potentially
difficult situations.
The proposed policy states that, "if a woman who is topless is minding her
own business, staff will take no action."
That happened a couple of weeks ago at the CVC's Island Lake Conservation Area in
Orangeville. A woman removed her top for a period of time. She did so discreetly,
Hastings said, and there were no complaints from other park users.
If a patron complains to staff about a woman who is topless but not "exhibiting
sexual behavior", staff are to explain that going topless is legal. If the
patron is not satisfied, he or she will be supplied with the telephone number of
the police, so a complaint can be lodged.
Patrons upset that a woman is topless may be referred to another area of the park.
In cases where a woman is intentionally drawing attention to herself, "staff
will approach the woman and inform her that the police have been called and then
distance themselves from the scene until the police arrive. The police will decide
what action is required."
Hastings says the CVC has received some inquiries from parents wanting to know the
agency's policy if women go topless. "The parents were worried about their
kids," he says.
It's important that conservation staff handle topless situations diplomatically,
Hastings says, "so as not to place themselves into a possible sexual harassment
situation while attempting to deal with the concerns of other customers."
The policy was developed based on the models of several others in Canada and the
United States. The report says a City of Mississauga policy, which contains the
same recommendations, will be going before City councillors soon.