June 27, 1997

BARE BREAST LAW FLOPS

PRIVATE MEMBER'S BILL A CONSTITUTIONAL NONSTARTER

By BEN RAYNER
Ottawa Sun Prescott-Russell Liberal MPP Jean-Marc Lalonde isn't ready to abandon his crusade against bare breasts.
Lalonde had hoped to introduce a private member's bill requiring women to keep their tops on in public places before the provincial legislature wrapped up its spring session yesterday afternoon.
But he's temporarily relented in his bid to ban bare boobs on the advice of lawyers, who've told him such a prohibition would be unconstitutional in the wake of last year's Ontario Court of Appeal ruling that made it legal for women to go topless in Ontario.
"It's not as easy as we thought it would be," Lalonde said from Toronto yesterday.
"I'm still saying the government had the right to appeal that decision, and should have. But I didn't want to deposit a bill that I knew wasn't going to be accepted and not even debated."
Lalonde is seeking legal advice on how he can introduce an anti-bare breast bill that sidesteps the constitutional issue.