Citizens of the Greater Toronto Area

Toronto City Council is examining its current licensing system for Body Rub Parlours and Holistic Centres. There was a cap of 25 set on BRP’s in 1975 and the City is recommending that the cap be lifted, allowing for current Holisitic Centres operating as BRP’s to be licensed. The result will be hundreds of establishments where sexual exploitation can happen in Toronto. The City was mandated to review its current licensing structure with a human trafficking lens in place. This has not been satisfactorily done.

City staff are recommending that City Council direct the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards, to report to the General Government and Licensing Committee in the fourth quarter of 2019 with proposed amendments to the Body Rub and Holistic Centre By-laws that will include an analysis of the feasibility and impacts of:

1. Removing the licence requirements for holistic centres and practitioners;
2. Modernizing the requirements of the Body Rub Parlour By-law, including increasing or removing the cap on the number of body rub parlours permitted in the City of Toronto; and
3. Increasing safety requirements in the Body Rub Parlour By-law.

 The proposed recommendations are outlined in the report titled "Review of Body Rub Parlour and Holistic Centre By-laws - Consultation and Research Findings".