If Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti gets his way, ferries full of sex-seekers will steam across the harbour to a Toronto Islands red light district.
Mammoliti has for years said Toronto should regulate and tax brothels, and made the establishment of a distinct prostitution zone a central plank in his aborted run for mayor last year.
Now part of Mayor Rob Fords inner circle, Mammoliti (Ward 7, York West) is renewing the push, along with the leafy islands as his top choice for location.
Its the political issue that nobody wants to touch, Mammoliti, chair of the community development and recreation committee, said in an interview Tuesday after making his case in a radio interview.
Mammoliti has for years argued Toronto should regulate and tax brothels, saying unregulated prostitution happens in massage parlours in residential communities across the city.
Now, after an Ontario Superior Court ruling last September that struck down prostitution laws a ruling suspended pending appeal and the city desperate for new sources of revenue, the time is ripe, he says.
To put it in an area away from the city might make some sense, and the islands fit the bill, he said. The industry exists and were not making a penny from it . . . I havent raised it with the mayor and his people yet, but I will.
Asked if a red light district would take away from the islands wholesome family vibe, he responded: Im not sure how wholesome it is with the whole nude beach, referring to clothing-optional Hanlans Point Beach. If you look hard enough, youll find somebody without pants on.
Marci Crist, who owns a bed and breakfast on the islands, predicted the proposal wouldnt float with most islanders.
Theres virtually no crime on the island and, with the kind of crowd that (red light district) would bring, that might not be possible, said Crist, adding shes in favour of legalizing and regulating prostitution.
Theres also the police situation if a woman got in trouble with a violent man, it would take forever to get somebody out here.
She took exception to Mammolitis comparison with the nude beach, noting many families go there. It hasnt got anything to do with selling sex professionally.
