My latest Calgary Herald column looks at developments in Alberta, B.C., and Saskatchewan, where politicians, bureaucrats, and other busybodies are looking to ban activities they disapprove of:
If one were to rank activities on a wholesomeness scale, I suppose mixed martial arts and exotic dancing might rate quite low.
What should offend us far more than scantily clad men pummelling each other or scantily clad females dancing on a pole is the existence of moralistic busybodies who feel consenting adults should be prohibited from enjoying or participating in such activities.
Last summer, the Canadian Medical Association voted to support a ban on mixed martial arts (MMA), despite the sport's growing popularity. Around the same time doctors called for a ban, the sport was sanctioned in Ontario and B.C.
Last week, the B.C. Medical Association renewed the call for a ban after a participant in an amateur MMA event in Kamloops had to undergo emergency brain surgery. The individual has recovered, and it's been suggested medical care and screening of participants at the event was not what it ought to have been.
The hostile stance taken toward the sport seems rather counterproductive if the goal is to reduce injuries. Offering supervision and expertise seems more likely to result in positive change. All the more disappointing is the self-righteous tone, rather than an evidencebased argument for a ban. Condescending disapproval is a flimsy basis for criminalizing an entire sport.
It seems Canada has an abundance of condescending approval, especially in Saskatchewan. Not only is our neighbour one of the few provinces where MMA is banned, it is the only province where strip clubs are forbidden. I believe fun is still permitted, but you should double-check that if you plan on travelling.
A Regina bar is in hot water after allowing a burlesque show to be performed, even though it featured no nudity. So apparently upholding this senseless prohibition involves enlisting government bureaucrats to scrutinize women and determine what constitutes exotic dancing.
The Saskatchewan government can't seem to mount a compelling argument in support of the ban. But when politicians are trying to make better decisions on our behalf, who are we to second-guess them?
A similar attitude persists in Alberta, although strip clubs are permitted. Here, the "freedom to create and spirit to achieve" does not extend to burlesque performers. The Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission (AGLC) cannot imagine how such smut could be considered art, so surely it is no different and no better than exotic dancing. The two are treated the same.
Those involved in burlesque and those who enjoy the shows consider it art. Once again, you might think this could be left to the tastes of consenting adults, but provincial bureaucrats are having none of it.
In Alberta, performers wearing the traditional burlesque pasties are considered to be nude. Therefore, they must not come into any contact with any other performers. Any props or devices determined by AGLC bureaucrats to be "sexual" are also forbidden.
One Calgary venue was recently fined $10,000 for a show bureaucrats deemed "too racy." It's unclear the extent of the trauma suffered by those in attendance.
Burlesque performers are pushing back.
They recently held a performance protest in Calgary, and they've been gathering names on a petition.
However, much like Saskatchewan's exotic dancing law, if no liquor is being served, then burlesque shows are out from under the puritan boot of the AGLC.
Who - and from what - is this law aimed at protecting? All that appears to be in danger are the sensibilities of those who have deemed themselves the arbiters of what others should see and do.
Disapproval is one thing. But the tut-tutting of the nanny-statists should not be the final say on how Canadians live their lives.
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