Wednesday, December 19, 2012

U Spa at 568 Yonge



At 568 Yonge stands U Spa. This Yonge Street Massage Spa was called Toronto Exotic Massage around 1999. It is on the second floor above a Japanese restaurant at the intersection of Wellesley and Yonge.

The spa has been redecorated and is very clean now. The bathroom is clean. Unfortunateley it does not have a good lounge area.

The old spa did have a large lounge with a pop machine where customers used to hang out late into the night with the girls.

This downtown massage parlour is open late and usually has three or four girls on shift. It now hires white girls as well as Asians.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Health Foot Spa






Health Foot Spa is a therapeutic massage parlour on Buttonfield Road in Markham.
They do RMT massage, acupuncture and relaxing massage.
They have a $40/hour massage special in December 2012.
The owner is John and he is the RMT on site.

I Spa at 6 Wellesley



I Spa has been open four years at the corner of Wellesley and Yonge.
The massage attendants are attractive and full-figured.
Reviews have been good.

I Spa is directly north of U Spa at 568 Yonge.
U Spa is much bigger and has younger girls.

Monday, December 10, 2012

2004 Town Crier Article

Many interesting details on Massage Parlours in Toronto
The run down on body rub parlours and holistic centres Laws govern local establishments, but some offer straight up sex By Kris Scheuer June 3, 2004 Some of these body rub parlours are legal; some are not. Police are investigating complaints from residents about businesses near Mt. Pleasant Rd and Eglinton Ave. that are suspected of offering sexual services. Police and bylaw officers visit parlours around the city and there have been wide-scale investigations and crackdowns such as operation ‘Home for Christmas’ last December. This involved Toronto police and other forces raiding 300 parlours across the GTA and among other things, rescuing five girls under 18 who were forced to work as prostitutes. But mostly, visits are complaint driven. "Here in 53 Division if we have a complaint we have to determine if the place is operating legally or not. (Then) we have to get officers in plainclothes to determine if there are sexual services being offered," says Sgt. Peter Henry with 53 Division’s community response unit. "They can’t offer anything other than a massage," he says on April 21. "Once you are in there it is pretty easy to find out what (extra) services they are offering . . . Some are quite blatant in ads in papers like <I>NOW</I> and <I>eye</I>." He says recent complaints have come to his division regarding places around Mt. Pleasant Rd. (south of Eglinton) and Eglinton Ave. east of Avenue Rd. The Town Crier was faxed a list of local parlours by one resident and looking in <I>NOW</I> magazine there are ads for these local establishments. For instance, the Royal Spa at 481 Eglinton Ave. W. advertises "$60 nude complete," although it doesn’t specify what that involves as it is under the ad heading of "Massage." We’ve all seen the signs in windows offering massage or holistic services, but are these establishments legal? "Body rub parlours" are legal in Toronto and the city issues a maximum of 25 licences, which can be renewed yearly. 468x60banner At present there are 24 in Toronto with one licence pending, says Richard Mucha, manager of licensing with the city. Two legal issues that come up are, operating without a licence and offering sexual services regardless of whether the establishment is licenced. So can a body rub parlour offer up sex? "Sexual services — there is no way that the government would allow these (places to offer that legally)," explains Henry. Body rub attendants "are allowed to rub bodies and it (bylaw) doesn’t specify against nudity, but the problem is really unlicenced body rub parlours. I have inspected two licenced body rub parlours in my career of 29 years," explains Mark Dimuantes, senior policy and research officer in municipal licensing and standards division. <B><I><CENTER>‘It can be all forms of prostitution from oral sex to body slides where a woman will slide on you naked.’</I> — Mark Dimuantes, MLS senior policy research officer</B></CENTER> Where do establishments that offer "extras" draw the line? "It all depends on the place," says Dimuantes. "It can be all forms of prostitution from oral sex to body slides where a woman will slide on you naked." Dimuantes spent 18 years enforcing the bylaws, two-and-a-half years on the prosecution end and now works on policy. While he has never solicited sex as part of his investigations, he has heard it all during numerous court cases. "It depends on the individual attendant. Once you are in the room it starts and escalates from there to full on sex on the table if the attendant is willing," says Dimuantes. Another cause for investigation is, "the possible presence of minors and making sure no one is being held against their will and that there is no organized crime involvement," says Henry. There are 20 pages in the Toronto Municipal Code outlining the regulations for all licenced body rubs. For example all body-rubbers have to be examined by a qualified medical practitioner to determine that they are free of any "communicable diseases." The door or structure to a room or cubicle where a body rub is taking place can be closed, but not locked. A list of fees and the type of services offered must be filed with the MLS division of the city. Both the body rubbers and anyone using their services have to be 18 or older. In North Toronto, for example, no body rub parlours are licenced in Ward 16, says Eglinton-Lawrence Councillor Karen Stintz. That may be, but some local residents are concerned about what they say are illegal parlours in the neighbourhood. In early-April, a North Toronto resident faxed a list of possibly illegal massage parlours to St. Paul’s Councillor Michael Walker’s office, explains Justin Peters, executive assistant to Walker. Another man complained to Peters at a community meeting on March 19. "This is the first complaint in (at least five years) to Michael’s office. We had (bylaw) inspectors out on March 24 looking at whether the licences are legal," says Peters. "I have to assume that when we refer something off, that the process is followed and things are reviewed," adds Peters. Jim Baker a member of Avenue Road Eglinton Community Association (ARECA) is concerned. "Personally I think there is no place for these establishments . . . If they are offering a legitimate spa service, that is different." He says if you have a concern contacting your local residents’ association can help. "I believe many voices are more effective than one. That is how ARECA got involved." The group worked with Stintz’s office and one establishment was fined and closed. However, there is some mix-up over the correct location, which could not be cleared up at press time. "I think eventually whether it is police or a bylaw officer we will get them all," says Baker. Peters says, "we (city) are walking a fine balance between preserving and protecting society and recognizing what does occur." One North Toronto resident told the Town Crier, that massage parlours offering sex services are now operating in mixed-use neighbourhoods right next door to residences. This person asked not to be named for fear of retribution from parlour owners. "People who are buying their $700,000 homes need to realize what is happening down the street. It used to be in the suburbs and in Parkdale, but they are moving in slowly," she comments. Her advice is, "be anonymous about it, but keep making noise about it and work with others . . . People really need to be aware of what is right around the corner from where they live." She worries about the safety of children living near these parlours. "They are cruising for extras and what else are they cruising for? What else turns their crank?" For those who work as body rub attendants, no certification is required. It takes at least two months to process a licence and as is the case with any business licence, the owner and attendants all have to undergo a police check. Does a past conviction translate into a refusal of a licence? Not necessarily. In the past, the manager had some discretion as to whether or not to allow a licence to proceed, explains Mucha, who works for the city. "Management would look at an applicant’s criminal history, if there is one, and see if it is relevant and look at the dates of events. If it (offence) was 20 years ago, does that mean that a licence ought not to be issued?" But as of July 1, that will change. That is when new business licence thresholds, that were passed by city council earlier this year, will kick in so staff will have less discretion in this area. It is not cheap to operate or work in a body rub establishment. It costs $6,880.89 for the owner or operator to obtain a licence. An owner or operator must be present onsite at all times, so if a second licence is needed for a different person it costs $3,389.93. Each body rub attendant pays $194 for a licence. Each of these licences must be renewed each September. The costs are $6,775; $3,388; and $100 respectively for renewals. It is a different story with "holistic centres." Not only are they cheaper, but there is no cap on the number. This is a new licence for Toronto, which was created in 1997 or 1998, says Mucha. "A number of holistic associations from acupuncturists, shiatsu massage therapists and reflexologists lobbied the former Metro level of government indicating that they felt at a loss or penalized being lumped in with the body rub trade and made a case to have their own licences," says Mucha. In this case it costs the owner $147 and each practitioner the same with a renewal fee of $100. Every holistic practitioner has to have a certification from a registered institute in Ontario, says Mucha. "We are having a large problem with holistic centres, which are in a lot of instances acting as body rub parlours and in some cases bawdy houses," says Dimuantes. Part of the problem, explains Dimuantes is that prior to establishing holistic licences the old city of Toronto "did not give us time to find out who was legitimate and wasn’t legitimate and which schools were legitimate and which weren’t. We get these diplomas as accreditation, but there are places in the city set up printing off these fake accreditations." People do call the municipal licensing office to complain. "We had this one 80-year-old woman who went into one of these places and wanted to get a massage for her husband. She got him a gift certificate and when he came in he was offered (sexual) services. He freaked out and she called us," says Dimuantes. There are 11 pages outlining requirements for holistic centres and those who deliver these services. One of the most interesting definitions comes under the topic of what "specified body areas" can not be touched legally in a holistic centre. For females, breasts are off limits and for both genders a practitioner is restricted from touching someone’s "pubic, perineal and perianal areas and the buttocks." A practitioner is also required to have the same "specified body areas" covered while delivering holistic services. Massage parlors, as opposed to body rub or holistic centres, are a separate category and are no longer regulated or licenced by the city. Under provincial legislation they are allowed to self regulate. For those who want to know the difference between a legitimate holistic centre or body rub and one that is not, ask to see their licence, suggests police and bylaw officers. If you have a concern contact your local councillor, business or resident’s association or the police at 416-808-2222 and ask for the community response unit or call the city at 416-338-0338 and ask for municipal licensing and standards division.
Source: http://mytowncrier.ca/the-run-down-on-body-rub-parlours-and-holistic-centres.html