Canada Bans Foreign Strippers, Cites Exploitation

The Canadian government on Friday announced that it will begin banning foreign strippers over fears of human trafficking and exploitation.

According to officials Canada will no longer offer visas for any foreign strippers and when current one-year work visas expire they will not be renewed. The new plan also applies to women who work in massage parlors or who work for escort agencies.

Since 2006 the Canadian government has issued visas for 496 exotic dancers, however in 2011 only 12 such permissions were granted. With the new law 700 workers will lose their visas and be forced to return back to their native countries.

Critics of the law say the Canadian government is being prudish for no reason given the legal status of Canadian women who also work in those professions. Advocates for the adult entertainment industry in the meantime say the Canadian government is discriminating against valid workers. According to a spokesman for the Adult Entertainment Association Of Canada:

“They’re destroying the industry by creating a labor shortage.”

Canada’s immigration officer in a statement regarding the decision notes:

“The government cannot in good conscience continue to admit temporary foreign workers to work in businesses in sectors where there are reasonable grounds to suspect a risk of sexual exploitation.”

Critics also claims that the ban could affect foreign students who take jobs as exotic dancers to earn quick money while going to school in the country, revealing:

“The word exotic means foreign, and that’s what people want to see.”

Do you think Canadian officials have overstepped their responsibilities?