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The Globe And Mail Saturday May 18 2002
Town Council Fights Woman's Escort Agency
Aghast officials in Salmon Arm, B.C. passed new bylaws to squeeze out sex trade
By Jane Armstrong, Vancouver
The residents of Salmon Arm were more than a little vexed when Miss Kitty selected their town to set up the newest B.C. franchise of AIl Pro Escorts.
They did not care that her trip to the B.C. Interior town of 16,000 -midway between Calgary and Vancouver - had been arduous.
Miss Kitty's real name is Debbie Robinson, and she had spent years in an unhappy marriage, then struggled on welfare until last fall when she found economic independence and professional pride by selling her time to lonely men, she said. Her web site promises that for $185 an hour the "open-minded" Miss Kitty, who is "of French heritage" and has a wide selection of I lingerie, will "make you purr like a kitten."
From her former home on Vancouver Island, Ms. Robinson scouted British Columbia for a town without an escort service, settled on Salmon Arm, paid the company's founder $5,000 for the franchise, then put an ad in the local paper.
Town and business leaders were aghast. They said there is no demand in Salmon Arm for Ms. Robinsons skills. Nor do they want her to create one.
The district responded by passing a set of stringent bylaws aimed at squeezing the sex trade out of town. The rules apply to escort services, massage parlors and exotic dancing.
"This community has fairly high morals," said district administrator Doug Lagore. "The business community has high standards that they want to maintain."
On May 13, the district passed a set of bylaws, which, among other things, requires Ms. Robinson to pay $3,000 for a business license.
As well, she is ordered to hand over the names and addresses of clients. Ms. Robinson said she will not comply. Privacy is a top priority for her clients, and besides, she does not kiss and tell.
She does not think the town has a right to ask for confidential information. Her clients, she said, are mainly lonely, single men.
"They got no one to talk to," said Ms. Robinson, who added that her "professional" age is 32. "And as far as I'm concerned, they just pay for my time. I sell my time, which includes confidentiality."
Citing that confidentiality, Ms. Robinson refused to discuss what she does with clients. She said town officials want her client list so they can single out customers.
Officials deny this. Mr. Lagore said the bylaw requires only that Ms. Robinson maintain a client list -not necessarily hand it over. It would be for Ms. Robinson's safety he said, for police if something happens to her on the job.
"You only have to talk to the 50 families in the Lower Mainland of B.C. to find out what happens to these people working in this industry, "he said, referring to the 50 women who have vanished from Vancouver's skid row. Most were drug-addicted prostitutes. A Port Coquitlam farmer has been charged with killing six of them.
Salmon Arm is not the first municipality to crack down on the sex trade. Escort services are not illegal but municipalities can regulate businesses. They cannot ban them but they can make their existence more difficult and expensive.
Ms. Robinson said that she does not need the town to look out for her. Her franchise keeps track of her dates. She has a driver and carries a cell phone and walkie-talkie.
Ms. Robinson said she had expected opposition in Salmon Arm, where the main industries are forestry and tourism. She was told that an Escort Service proprietor was driven out when residents called her business line 24 hours a day so clients could not get through.
But lately, the notoriety surrounding the new bylaws have won her unexpected support. "People honk and wave," she said. "I've had a lot of people tell me 'It's about time.' They are glad that I am here."
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