Getting Rubbed The Right Way
Mislabelled massagists and estranged civil servants cosy up to meet each others' kneadsBy Sarah-Lynne Otsuji
Any devotée of The Aquarian knows that a positive attitude can go a long way – even move mountains, with a little patience.
But can it fight City Hall?
Well, if it's a gracious win-win attitude, apparently it can.
According to The City and a group of determined holistic practitioners, a solution to the oppressive effects of an obscure bylaw is positively in the works.
In our last issue we reported that the city's massagist bylaw was threatening to put at least a few holistic healers and clinics out of business. The law classifies all bodywork therapists – reflexologists, Reiki Masters, shiatsu therapists, and so on – who are not licensed massage therapists as "massagists." The problem is that "massagist" is a hypothetical profession created by the city's licensing committee to regulate a different kind of hands-on service – the massage parlour and escort trade.
When our last issue went to press late in February, John Tozeland's Aurora Center for Well-Being on Portage Avenue was one of the clinics that was suddenly feeling the bylaw's sting. By order of The City, two of the Center's three "massagists" had agreed to stop laying hands on clients. Either that or apply for a massage parlour license in the inner city. Not exactly what Tozeland had in mind when he opened the Center two years ago at a time when the City was wisely following a no look, no see policy.
Within days of publication of The Aquarian's front page story, things rapidly began to change for the better. Tozeland banded together with a large group of other concerned local holistic practitioners to challenge the city's licensing department. Where he and others like Richard Shirray and Lily Gompf of the Health & Wellness Group of Manitoba on Ness Avenue had previously met with a brick wall of City Hall resistance, the response now was positive and cooperative.
"As holistic practitioners," Tozeland reflects, "we see so much division in our field because of licensing problems. . . .What we're looking for is an association that can bring us together and make it a win-win situation for everyone involved." Tozeland is alluding to the longstanding tension between licensed massage therapists – who must have several years of accredited training in traditional massage therapy – and other bodywork therapists ("massagists") who may have as little as a weekend course in one modality or another.
Along with sound therapist Bev Rayburn, and a handful of other holistic healthcare stakeholders, Tozeland took this win-win bargaining strategy to the city's licensing department and – bingo – recognition that the bylaw needs fixing was promptly forthcoming.
The City's Acting Chief Licensing Inspector, Bryan Verity, was no less forthcoming (and cordial) when I spoke to him in his Garry Street office. "It's really very difficult for the municipality when the criteria for practice and standards haven't been established yet by more senior levels of government," Verity explained. While the problem-solving process is "still in its very developmental stages," he noted optimistically, "an amicable solution is being worked out." But it won't be easy.
"When you look at all of the different modalities involved, where do you start? I mean what do you tackle and what don't you tackle?" Verity asks, answering that "you've got to start at the ground floor." For Verity that ground floor is littered with a maze of unclear provincial and national legislation and a lack of accredited schools to train, certify, and regulate most bodywork therapists and other holistic practitioners. The solution, Verity argues, must begin with defining "who should be responsible for guiding the criteria for these practices. We're really starting from scratch."
But that's still more than Tozeland had hoped for in the dark days of February. "We're really happy with how the city has shifted in attitude," Tozeland declares brightly. "We have now moved to a place of mutual respect and have developed a new working relationship. We are now able to start developing something of positive impact for the holistic community and for people at large."
That working relationship has taken the form of an ad hoc committee comprised of Verity and a handful of practitioners from the holistic community, led by Rayburn and Tozeland. Tozeland's group is busily doing their homework on the myriad of healing modalities practised by "massagists" in Winnipeg and elsewhere. Verity stresses that change could be slow and that he has "no clue as to what the changes could be." Any reform, he emphasises, must provide the public with assurances that the treatments they are receiving are from qualified practitioners and must offer the most protection for the most people.
Tozeland's group is eagerly moving to help provide that level of assurance. The crackdown on massagists that precipitated the recent crisis was a wake-up call that sparked the formation of a tentative holistic practitioners' association. Tozeland's vision is that this association, or something like it, could become a governing body for the local holistic field with the power to assess practitioners' abilities and ensure their good behaviour.
Tozeland credits The Aquarian for helping make these things happen. The front page article, together with the respected hypnotherapist's own efforts to rally the troops, produced a "groundswell" of support and interest from people across the city and beyond.
"The Aquarian does a wonderful networking job for us," Tozeland comments. "It's really at the hub of the holistic community." But Tozeland believes Winnipeg also needs other unifying resources for holistic practitioners, groups, and businesses that are currently divided or disorganized.
While there's no telling what direction the negotiations will take, my impression after meeting with the key players is that the seeds of a "win-win solution" are in place. If you're interested in contributing to the work-in-progress or learning more, contact John Tozeland at 945-9400 (tozeland@trance-action.com) or Bev Rayburn at 788-0701 (BJRAYBURN@aol.com).
Sarah-Lynne Otsuji is a former TV reporter. She makes her debut as a freelance writer in The Aquarian.
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