Victoria B.C. New Legal Issues Resulted in Minor Adjustments
But All Is Well Again in 2002
Unfortunately Classy Lady Penthouse has the residents up set and is being evicted with bad press (link to news article no longer available). They are now outcall only well sort of.... The local LE also said if they find any proof of incall, charges will be laid. A story was on BCTV comments:
the officer interviewed was quoted as saying " the situation is resolved from a police perspective...she is compliant with the bylaw." Interesting story though....on TV they showed the website that I enjoy so much and called it " the most elaborate escort site in BC." and used terms like "swank callgirls"
Also terrible article: Escorts' and 'Agencies': Just hookers and pimps, says a Classy Lady's mom
Classy agency anything but to neighbours
Turns out the 'quiet lady with a cat' runs an escort service from her penthouse suite
Source: http://www.globeandmail.com
Thursday, October 4, 2001 – Page A11
VICTORIA -- It's a sunny weekday morning and the phones in the penthouse suite overlooking sailboats in Victoria's picturesque inner harbour ring with yet another male caller looking for a date with one of the "Classy Ladies."
Sierra, a pony-tailed blonde wearing jeans and a tank top, flips through a stack of index cards to see which escorts are on call. "Audrey is available," she tells him. "She's 34B-24-34, uninhibited and 26. She's gorgeous."
The Classy Ladies escort agency is at the centre of a political debate in Victoria sparked by a landlord-tenant dispute revolving around a $2000-a-month penthouse suite in the Royal Quays luxury condominium complex.
Residents in the waterfront building popular with retirees are furious the city has issued a business licence to the escort agency's owner, who lives and works in a leased penthouse in the complex.
The landlord said she was shocked when she learned her new tenant was advertising on the Internet with photographs of escorts posing in lingerie in the suite.
"I'm outraged. Period," said Elzera Brum. The 62-year-old grandmother said she thought Rebecca Wilkinson was "just a quiet lady with a cat" when she applied to rent the condominium last September.
Residents started getting suspicious a few months ago when strange men mistakenly knocked on their doors expecting dates.
"Most of the people here are seniors," Ms. Brum said. "That's why they are so upset. They don't want that here."
Ms. Brum has tried twice, unsuccessfully, to evict Ms. Wilkinson, who has a lease until March, 2002. Arbitrators ruled she had no grounds for eviction based on her complaints under the B.C. Residential Tenancy Act.
About 45 of the condominium tenants and owners have signed a petition to City Hall to intervene. The City of Victoria is reviewing its escort-licence bylaws in the wake of the controversy, Mayor Alan Lowe said.
The owner of Classy Ladies said people in her neighbourhood want her evicted because they don't approve of her business. She was licensed in January.
"I'm not doing anything wrong here," Ms. Wilkinson said yesterday. "Why should I have to explain myself to these nosy neighbours? I'm not butting into their lives."
The 43-year-old divorced mother of two said she is the victim of prejudice. Residents are snapping photographs of everyone who comes to her suite, she said, including her Avon lady.
"I'm being harassed night and day."
Classy Ladies is one of two licensed escort agencies in B.C.'s capital city. Ms. Wilkinson said the agency employees 40 women. They charge up to $300 an hour.
The agency is licensed under Victoria's Escort and Dating Service Bylaw. The bylaw allows an agency to run an escort service on an "out-call" basis. That means clients cannot be entertained at the office address of the business. "I only book the girls' time," Ms. Wilkinson said.
The city may change the bylaw to prevent escort-agency offices from being set up in apartment and condominium buildings, said Mr. Lowe, the mayor.
8/5/01 Victoria Update - Much is Changing
After my great Toronto trip and report from July, I am again paying more attention to Victoria thinking of continuing my routine of alternating my sexwork.com "research" trips between Toronto and Victoria about every 3 months.
I am hearing from quite a few guys following my March 2001 Victoria reports and going to Victoria in the last few weeks. One Phoenix private list member is there now, another going in a week, and I had a long phone discussion with one that just returned. And I know there are many others going to Victoria both from the private list and from my Victoria research reports on sexwork.com. But a lot is changing - Here is an update:
A lot is changing in Victoria. Classy Ladies, Secret Cravings and others are in the City of Saanich just North of Victoria. Seems the nice policeman has come by to warn all the incalls they have to be concerned about bawdy enforcement. I have long wondered why Victoria is about the only Canadian city with so many incalls.
It is reported that the nice police persons (might be a policewomen also) say that the incalls can't have more than a phone person and one other gal in a place at a time. Everyone is having to go independent or quasi independent in order to get around the stepped up enforcement of bawdy rules. Secret Cravings has closed (the location is being used by some of the newly independents). Other agencies are still running from new locations and in new ways often with gals at nearby homes but only one to an incall location. Of course some may be doing more outcall since outcall is totally legal in all of Canada, as in most of the world, except the U.S.
Classy Ladies - Jewel who I reviewed and so much enjoyed on last two trips is reported to now work at Classy Ladies. It is reported that she sometimes uses the name "Pamela" to avoid being confused with the other Jewel at Classy Ladies. However I don't see her listed on their website. Of those at Classy I enjoyed so much and reported on seems only Natalie is still listed on website. Summer from August 2000 report is now helping to manage. But Classy has a huge choice of women on website, with pictures and schedules, and consistently gets great reviews and is run by a sharp gal who has earned a great reputation for Classy.
Classy Ladies has a revamped very nice website with pictures and gals schedules at http://www.bcadult.com/classy/Index.htm Reports are Viki, who owns Classy Ladies is looking to move the "old" incall place on Sept 1st. The Penthouse, which is in Victoria, from all reports is beautiful overlooking the pay but you pay CAN$300/hr (US$195) for mostly the same gals you can get at regular incall at (Internet rate) CAN$150 (US$98) an hour. And outcall rates are only CAN$20 more.
I do not know where Destiny @ Secret Cravings is, some guys have asked me since I enjoyed her so much on last two trips.
"The other Jewel named Jude" is still active and we have become friends (enjoyed her cooking me dinner at her home in March). Jude has been traveling frequently to East Coast of U.S. where rates are so much higher than in Canada and she benefits from the exchange advantage from $US to $CAN when she earns fees in $US.
Private Dancer/Seductions Unlimited/ Secret Dreams which was my nightmare as I reported is building a new website http://bcadult.com/Allure/main.htm and I hope their schedule will be up soon and more accurate than my experiences from March trip.
Reports are that Escape and Relax now works out of an apartment off Hillside, which is in Victoria and not Saanich. Their new website is http://bcadult.com/escape/index02.htm
I need to update some of my links and other info in my Victoria Research Report at http://www.sexwork.com/victoria/content.html
The incall license cost was like only $15 in Saanich where CL is but much higher in Victoria...not quite sure what an incall license really is since technically incalls are not legal but the bawdy house law is rarely enforced unless related to complaints or other crimes.
So things are changing but will settle out OK and gals are either working individually out of homes or doing more outcall. I wouldn't be nervous about the situation, the gals are still there and great, just locations are changing or have to do outcall.
I am debating for my fall trip to return to Victoria again or stick with Toronto with so many others options. But for incall or outcall escorts Victoria can't be beat both for quality, attitude and low costs, although Victoria is only a little less than Toronto for outcall escorts. Victoria is a nice small town with everything so close (once you get there by ferry). And I would enjoy meeting more of the Victoria gals incall or outcall.
I ask that you mention the sexwork.com site and/or "Dave in Phoenix" to agencies/ providers if how you knew about them comes up. If I call and try and get information or if I ever do the suggested group trip. it might help if they knew who I was and that I was generating lots of business for them, by honest reviews and exposing the world to the great gals of Victoria :)
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