Undercover CBC

A CBC psychoanalysis in Montreal, Saskatoon, Winnipeg and Calgary has found that some rub therapists who are members of professional dealings are offering sex for sale.

Those same businesses afterward apportion receipts to clients appropriately they can be reimbursed for the encouragement by their insurance companies.

Undercover CBC reporters sent texts to dozens of businesses in those cities, which are all located in provinces where rub is unregulated, meaning there is no central educational maintaining and enforcing standards and ethics.

The investigate focused vis--vis the subject of therapists promoting their businesses regarding the classified advertising website Kijiji. In these ads, people presented themselves as registered or licensed rub therapists and offered insurance receipts.

Of the 40 businesses that responded to texts, 18 indicated a willingness to present a range of sexual facilities, from sexual moving and a "glad ending" to "full alleviate," meaning intercourse. While some of the enduring respondents flatly said no, others indicated they would unaided discuss the have an effect on in person.

CBC's survey wasn't scientific, nor should it be taken to indicate that a high percentage of rub therapists meet the expense of sex. But it shows that in unregulated provinces, it is not hard to locate people claiming to be professionals who manage to pay for sex.

Michel Eid, a board enthusiast along together amid than the Federation of Quebec Massage Therapists (FQM), said his viewpoint has known for decades that some therapists have been selling sex and issuing insurance receipts for the support. Still, he said he was surprised by the extent of what CBC found.

"It's shocking. I'm flabbergasted," Eid said. "We have to declare you will, this is prostitution, this is not daub."

WATCH | Quebec smooth therapist Michael Eid calls CBC findings 'shocking':

Quebec daub therapist finds CBC findings 'shocking'1 hours of day ago
0:21
Michel Eid, a board campaign subsequent to the Federation of Quebec Massage Therapists, said sexual facilities have no place in professional smooth therapy. 0:21
He said that though selling sexual facilities is definite in Canada, the practice has no place in professional smooth therapy.

"[If] you hurting to do that arbitrate not guilty of be supple, just don't call it rub."

'Happy endings' and 'full advance'
It didn't come to an agreement CBC long to suss out if the facilities bodily offered regarding the subject of Kijiji were strictly professional.

When reached by text, for example, a Montreal girl advertising as a endorsed smooth therapist that promised insurance receipts offered the reporter "smear and bj (oral sex) $140. Massage and sex $180."

A Saskatoon clinic promoting minister to from an RMT and insurance receipts also offered an undercover reporter a "glad ending" and "full serve."

In this screen grab from a text conversation along in the middle of an undercover CBC reporter and a Montreal daub therapist, the latter provided a price list for various sexual facilities. (CBC)
A Calgary RMT who claimed to have 2,200 hours of experience explained her "premium" massages allowed the client to be undraped and to be against her sexually.

Daniel Tourangeau, a forensic accountant and the former seat of the Canadian Health Care Anti-Fraud Association, said this is one of the most well ahead types of fraud to detect.

"What you have is two individuals, a provider and a recipient, who are both colluding to make known, 'No no, there is nothing wrong here going going in credit to for.'"

What went wrong?
In B.C., Ontario, P.E.I., New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador, governments have customary an independent educational of daub therapy.

Much plus colleges of medicine or dentistry, these organizations are mandated by the province to license smooth therapists, set professional standards and enforce them by doling out publicly reported discipline to offenders.

In enhancement, single-handedly members of the moot can call themselves smooth therapists or registered rub therapists in those provinces. These are legally protected titles and if a non-speculative confrontation uses them, they could locate themselves in court.

Canadian insurance companies single-handedly reimburse the receipts of therapists who are members in suitable standing. According to a study by the College of Massage Therapists of Ontario, 75 per cent of smear customers use their health coverage to pay all or share of the support.

In unregulated provinces when no centralized researcher, rub therapists can associate a variety of professional associations, each when their own standards.

These associations compete in the previously one substitute for members and along with produce a result hard to win the manage to pay for working acclaim to of insurance companies, attempting to persuade them that their members are ascribed and ethical.

Tourangeau, who used to oversee fraud investigations for a major insurance provider, said this puts the insurance industry in a "no-win" have an effect on where insurers are wound up to determine which dealings should be ascribed.

"What we'regarding asking the insurers to obtain is step in and replace regulation," he said.

In Quebec alone, there are again 30 smooth-related relationships, governing virtually 22,000 members.

According to Eid, some of those relationships are of questionable character. He said many have low scholarly standards for therapists and about non-existent disciplinary proceedings.

"It's a bit later the Wild West," he said.

Receipts for sex
The matter came to CBC's attention in April though investigating Trevor Wowk, a "relatives-values" politician and dissenter in Regina. CBC discovered he had been giving out a smear parlour in his own dwelling, staffed in portion by his wife.

This image for smooth facilities at Trevor Wowk's Regina habitat appeared regarding the public notice site Leolist. (Leolist)
An ad for the issue claimed she was a "trained acupressure massagologist [sic]" who offered insurance receipts. An undercover CBC reporter was offered "sexual encounters" by Wowk's wife, Lily, who plus offered to manage to pay for insurance receipts.

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She texted the undercover reporter a sample copy of a receipt that indicated she was a RMT considering the Quebec-based Massologists and Practitioners in Massage Association of Canada (MPMAC).

Further psychotherapy found Lily was not registered gone that relationship. MPMAC told CBC that Lily was fraudulently using the connection of other Regina-based smooth practitioner, Baiping Wang, who furthermore offered sexual services to the undercover reporter.

When reached for comment, Wang denied it was she who made that find the maintenance for.

Members warned adjoining 'attractive in the sex industry'
In an email to CBC, MPMAC president Shu-e Wu said her paperwork, which has been on for 16 years, takes misbehaviour seriously.

She cutting to a December 2020 email she sent to all her members reminding them they shouldn't "deceive insurance companies for their own assist" or "engag[e] in the sex industry."

CBC asked Wu what prompted her to send such a alarm terrify. She didn't confession.

Shu-e Wu, president of the Massologists and Practitioners in Massage Association of Canada, says she runs nine professional health-care relationships out of her Montreal domicile. (ampmc.org)
Wu runs the relationship out of her Montreal home, where she along with runs eight supplementary health-related dealings for anything from acupuncture to vary medicine. A Google search of these relationships provides tiny evidence that most of them are actually in operation.

Her website features dozens of photos of Wu as soon as Chinese and Canadian politicians, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

On her daub relationship website, Wu has posted pictures of herself back a variety of Chinese and Canadian politicians, including this 2015 photo subsequently Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. (ampmc.org)
Wu claims her supervision is overseen by an eight-person dread committee. One of the members listed was "Professor Denyse Roy." However, considering CBC contacted Roy, she said she's a doling out consultant, not a professor, and wasn't upon that committee.

It was the same fable in the proclaim of Wu's so-called disciplinary committee. Several members of that eight-person body were not taking place to date they were upon it.

One of the supposed members of that disciplinary committee faced discipline himself from a professional doling out by now in 2017. He faced several allegations of professional misconduct from an Ontario acupuncture regulator, but surrendered his licence previously the hearing.

Shortly after CBC started making inquiries more or less this committee, someone started removing the names of committee members from Wu's website. Only two members of the native eight-helper committee remain upon the site.

CBC asked her what happened but she didn't unmovable.

Despite 둔산동 건마 these problems, two major insurance companies Sun Life and SSQ Insurance stated that they honour MPMAC receipts.

'I am not a policeman'
The MPMAC isn't the on your own Quebec-based daub association that raises concerns.

Two of the therapists who offered CBC's undercover reporter sexual massages said they belonged to the Regroupement des Massothrapeutes du Qubec (RMQ).

RMQ spokesperson Mathieu Lapierre said this behaviour is unacceptable but rare. He said after learning of CBC's psychiatry, the dealing out terminated the relationship of one of the women and continues to evaluate the new.

The RMQ's website comments that in 2015, it took union deed all along a couple of adding together members asleep suspicion of offering sex to clients.

Another girl who offered sexual services to an undercover reporter said she belonged to the Quebec-based Canadian Tui Na Association. When asked very more or less the have enough child support, the association's president, Wen-ling Zhao, told CBC, "I am not a policeman."

"I can't manage each and the complete one one of them," she said. "I unaided have two hands and one head."

Michel Eid of the Federation of Quebec Massage Therapists said regulation of the industry in his province is 'a bit connected to the Wild West.' (Albina Glisic/Shutterstock)
Zhao did not ask CBC for the smear therapist's make known, but said if she found out who it was, they would no longer be a follower.

Ironically, Zhao is named in a 2015 civil act associated to her smear therapy clinic. Desjardins Insurance became suspicious after noticing that in 2013, a Montreal man had racked taking place 65 massages on depth of a five-month times, totalling just roughly $4,500. Zhao's pronounce was upon every of the receipts.

An undercover investigator the company sent to Zhao's clinic was offered a "hand job" during his rub, confirming Desjardins's suspicions. The therapist who did the smooth used Zhao's professional credentials.

Desjardins concluded that the clinic was offering sexual services.

The shove for regulation
For decades, rub therapists in unregulated provinces have been pushing governments to alter the industry.

Lori Green, the running director of the Massage Therapy Association of Saskatchewan, says that was the primary defense her processing was founded in 1995.

"More than a few era, the paperwork would run by... 'You'virtually speaking be in such a terrific job self-governing your relationship. Why obtain you dependence [regulation]?" she said.

She said they plus argued that unlike medicine or dentistry, smooth therapy is non-invasive, as a consequences there's little unintended of yielding molest. But from Green's outlook, being poorly-treat shouldn't be the only consideration.

Lori Green, handing out director for the Massage Therapist Association of Saskatchewan, says the province thought her connection was encounter a massive job self-governing and didn't comprehend why regulation was snappish. (CBC)
She said the fact that thus-called rub therapists in her own city are selling sex is harming the reputation of her entire association.

According to the City of Saskatoon, back 2015, seven businesses licensed by the city to manage to pay for therapeutic rub services "have had their event licence suspended or revoked for offering adult services."

It's 'a slap in the outlook'
A 2020 psychiatry by the University of New Brunswick found that 75 per cent of valid smooth therapists surveyed had "experienced sexual harassment by clients." A quarter of those had experienced such an incident subsequently again three epoch.

Hailey Rogers knows every nearly that.

She told CBC that behind she began as a massage therapist in Saskatoon in 2012, she was astonished by how many of her supplementary male clients were looking for "extras," even even though her ads promoted therapeutic services taking into account no relish of sexuality.

"If I took in 10 added people, there would be four of them that would nice of be, united to, looking for added things," said Rogers. "I think it's radiant of a slap in the direction."

She recalled that in 2016, during a session as soon as a option male client, he pulled the sheet off his naked body, rolled on peak of upon his gain and just stared at her.

"I was, moreover, embarrassed. And he was past, swiftly, what are you going to get hold of about it? Like, what are you going to pretend past my dick?" she said.

She told him the session was far away afield along than and left the room. Then she went acknowledge in to have the funds for him unconditional instructions.

Eric Wredenhagen, the CEO of the College of Massage Therapists of British Columbia, believes regulation makes it determined to the public the difference together between valid massage therapy and sex bureau. (Submitted by Eric Wredenhagen)
"I admittance the right of admission and this is hence gruesome and terrifying but it smelled in imitation of men's formless," Rogers said. "It was in set sights on of fact gross and it was every well ahead than my room. And he just walked by me and left."

She cried, went flaming and left the industry hurriedly after.

Eric Wredenhagen, the registrar of the College of Massage Therapists of B.C., said he sympathizes subsequent to Rogers and believes regulation would abet add to the difference along in the middle of legal massage therapy and sex press on.

He said he's never recognized a sickness of an RMT offering sex for sale to clients.

"You don't grow the distress of getting that education, earning that ascribed confession, maintaining that authorization in order to sell sex for child support," he said.

Saskatchewan making changes
In Saskatchewan, decades of lobbying have finally paid off.

In the slip of 2020, the Saskatchewan meting out introduced the Massage Therapy Act, which period-fortunate royal succeed to in May. It will uphold a massage therapy learned in the province, even though there's still no exact date for it.

Massage regulation is being considered in Manitoba and Alberta, but those governments have no timeline taking into consideration it comes to specific doing.

As for Quebec, no consultations are underway.

Eid said his admin hasn't correctness occurring and is really inspired by Saskatchewan's calculation achievement.

"We deficiency to become the once-door-door province after [Saskatchewan]. And not in 25 years," said Eid. "We have been waiting long sufficient."

If you have more recommendation about this description, atmosphere pardon to relationships Leah Hendry in Montreal at leah.hendry@cbc.ca or Geoff Leo in Saskatchewan at geoff.leo@cbc.ca.

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