Two Windsor strip clubs have launched an aggressive campaign to recruit female students to work as exotic dancers in exchange for tuition payments, after federal legislation was passed in July that changed the immigration rules for foreign workers.
With the passing of Bill C-38, the government shut down the system that granted nearly 800 temporary work visas to foreign exotic dancers. Under the new legislation, existing permits will not be renewed.
Government officials say the ban on work visas for foreign workers intending to work in the adult entertainment industry was designed to protect against trafficking and exploitation of newly-arrived foreign women.
Now in an attempt to fill the vacant jobs, Windsor clubs are recruiting university and college students in exchange for tuition funding – a move that’s raised eyebrows as some question the morality of recruiting cash-strapped college students to strip.
But according to Richard Kurland, a lawyer for the Adult Entertainment Association, poor legislation is to blame for forcing managers to recruit college students, not the strip clubs themselves.
Kurland said strip clubs that operate legally and have a good working relationship with law enforcement agencies should be able to continue to recruit foreign workers.
“One can understand morally the direction, but the businesses are licit. They are legal businesses, fully functioning under provincial and municipal laws that are respecting the rules of the road,” said Kurland.
“Those establishments should be given the chance to continue to hire foreign workers and frankly Immigration Canada and HRSDC do not have the experience, do not have the resources to determine good clubs from bad.”
And while some may disapprove of offering to cover costly tuition payments in exchange for stripping, Kurland said it’s really not that different than any other part-time job.
“It mirrors other businesses that seek to recruit students on a part-time basis. If some of the people can earn tuition with short hours and big bucks, good on them,” he said. “As long as the activity is legal, why not?”
Kurland believes that solid policing that targets abusive, illegal clubs is the best way to protect against potential exploitation. Clubs that operate legally should be allowed to continue to hire foreign workers, he said.
“If police say an establishment is A-OK, why not let foreign workers go to that licit, regulated business?”
