Recruiters of teenage strippers may soon be scouring Toronto high schools in search of female students who can be groomed into disrobing part-time as exotic dancers to earn college tuition. A flyer praising the benefits of the burlesque trade has been produced to target students in high schools, colleges and universities in the Toronto area, says a group representing dancers and club owners.
The brochure claims working as a dancer pays well, offers flexible hours and makes a "great part-time job to raise college tuition. A scramble is underway by the Adult Entertainment Association of Canada to fill a demand for dancers after the federal government this month stopped issuing visas or extensions for foreign strippers to work here.
There are up to foreign strippers in Canada and most vow to go underground and work in the sex trade if they can't dance legally. Most of them dance in Toronto, Windsor, Ont. Caroline, 28, and Nicola, 25, have been dancing in a downtown Toronto club for more than a year and have tasted the good life, and now don't want to return to their native Hungary. Nicola said she's stressed out and hasn't been able to eat since hearing news of the visa revocation.
The association said the visa ban that began July 14 means more Canadian women have to be hired to meet the demand. The new rules will prevent strip clubs, escort services and massage parlours from having access to foreign women. The association has created a "six-point action plan" to help keep the dancers in Canada. That includes more recruitment of women in high schools and colleges, lobbying the government for changes and if all else fails, the strippers plan to file refugee claims or marry Canadian citizens to sponsor them.
Lambrinos said girls 18 and older can work as dancers in Ontario, according to advice from their lawyers. He said recruiters from strip clubs will try to attract students by attending job fairs at high schools, colleges and universities in Toronto and surrounding areas.
