Wednesday 16 July 1997
Vanier has become the first local municipality to ask the federal government to act to stop women from baring their breasts in public.
In a resolution passed unanimously last night, Vanier Council endorsed a request first uttered by officials in the Windsor-area municipality of Chatham, asking the federal government to outlaw such public nudity in the Criminal Code.
"In Vanier we find it indecent for women to parade bare-breasted in public," said Coun. Diane Dor, who introduced the motion last night.
She got strong support from the rest of council.
"Zero tolerance," echoed councillors Sylvain Boyer and Robert Crte.
Intense public interest in female toplessness has swept Ontario this summer after a ruling by the Ontario Court of Appeal said it's not a criminal act for a woman to bare her breasts in public.
Soon afterward, Ottawa Council passed a bylaw prohibiting women from baring their breasts in public except on city beaches.
Other local municipalities have largely avoided the issue. And it's not clear whether any will follow Vanier's lead in calling on the federal government to act.
Kanata Mayor Merle Nicholds said her council decided not to debate the Chatham motion because it's outside the city's jurisdiction, and Kanata hasn't had any problems with public nudity. "We don't normally go out looking for issues that are way outside our jurisdiction," she said last night.
But in Vanier, the question has particular relevance. In June, a woman exposed her breasts on Montreal Road. Joanne Gowan, 31, was later arrested and charged with committing an indecent act.
"This is not the type of thing we want to give as an example to our children," said Mayor Guy Cousineau.
A July 3 protest march, organized by Vanier's Business Improvement Association, drew 150 people, Mr. Cousineau noted.
"There were people of all ages: children, middle-aged people, people from all parts of society, grandparents. A majority of people are not ready to accept this."
Two thousand people have signed a petition in Vanier calling on the federal government to outlaw such public nudity, said Mrs. Dor.
But Mr. Cousineau believes it's pointless to pass a bylaw, as Ottawa has done.
"We can pass all the bylaws we want. But a bylaw is not going to stand up in court," he said. Technically, it's beyond the city's powers, he said.
Yet people in Vanier clearly wanted something done about the problem, said Mrs. Dor, who owns a convenience store in her ward.
"I get comments all the time, asking Vanier Council to take action," she said. "This type of behaviour does not correspond to the values of our community."