The New Brunswick government has backtracked on its previous position and now says a Nordic spa in a rural part of the province can go ahead with a women-only private event where guests are allowed to be topless.
Hope-Wellness Eco-Resort, located in Edgett’s Landing, N.B., had originally scheduled the event for last week. It had hosted similar events twice before without issue.
But after advertising its latest event, it was contacted by the province’s gaming control and licensing services department and informed that there had been complaints filed.
It was told the event violated its liquor licence and the spa would have to apply for an entertainment/exotic licence, which is typically used for strip clubs. There was also no guarantee the application, which costs $750, would be accepted.
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The co-owners, Katie Carson and Ashley Ward, had already cancelled the event before speaking with Global News on Thursday.
The provincial government didn’t provide a comment Thursday, but in a Friday update, a spokesperson said they now believed the event, “as planned,” was “within the conditions of their licence.”
“We have extended an apology to the owner of Hope Wellness Resort for the unintended stress and concern caused by the cancelation of the original event.”
Katie Carson and Ashley Ward are co-owners of Hope-Wellness Eco-Resort in New Brunswick. They are taken aback by the backlash over an event they had scheduled for last week, and the province’s labelling of it as exotic entertainment.
Suzanne Lapointe/Global News
Body positivity
Ward and Carson described the event as a positive experience where a community can gather.
“It’s just very liberating. You don’t care about what your bathing suit looks like. There’s no judgment. Everyone in the community that comes is very much on the same page,” Ward said.
Carson said the fact the event was deemed “entertainment” was the most upsetting part of their discussions with the provincial department, because it unfairly portrayed what the women were trying to achieve.
“We honestly felt as if it was very sexist because we don’t need a specific licence here at the spa for men to take their tops off. But in this case, we could potentially get fined for women having that option,” she said.
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