Kevin Charach
CTV News Vancouver Journalist

'Exploiting these women for a profit': Richmond city councillor wants crackdown on illegal massage parlours

In recent months, Richmond bylaw officers, accompanied by RCMP, have targeted massage studios for breaking various rules.

CTV News confirmed at least two Richmond parlours have received hundreds of dollars in fines for bylaw violations, including operating with unexposed windows, employing workers who were not registered with the city and having workers operate wearing inappropriate attire, such as short skirts.

One city councillor is pushing the city and calling on the RCMP to increase enforcement.

"We understand that these women are being exploited by individuals and most of them are unsavoury characters that certainly operate these types of establishments," said Kash Heed, a Richmond city councillor and former police chief.

Heed did not single out any particular business, but says his experience in law enforcement leads him to believe many of the parlours not only offer illegal sexual services, but could also be tied to organized crime and sex trafficking.

"They're actually run by people who are exploiting these women for a profit," said Heed.

The two businesses CTV News reached out to denied any criminal wrongdoing.

One advocacy group believes the City of Richmond is overstepping and potentially putting sex workers in greater danger.

"These inspections will only push women underground, to apartments and condominiums where they are more at risk of violence," reads a letter written by SWAN Vancouver.

The letter, which is directed to Richmond city council and set up as a template for concerned citizens to replicate, SWAN says: "workers reported a heavy-handed RCMP presence, blocking of doors and detaining individuals during the inspections, among other things. I urge you to think about how these recent raids have inadvertently replicated the harms you say you want to prevent or address."

"They're not raids by any means," countered Heed. "The bylaw officers (are) accompanied by the RCMP simply because of some of the characters that are involved in exploiting these women in these particular businesses."

On Tuesday, city staff will be presenting recommendations on ways to increase enforcement for massage parlours and body rub studios. Heed is pushing for greater enforcement and is calling on police to step up.

"I've been very vocal in what needs to be done in our enforcement practices and this is one area where we've fallen behind and we need to catch up," he said.

CTV News reached to Richmond RCMP but did not receive a response before deadline.