OTTAWA -- Canada's highest court has stripped a Montreal nude dancing club of the right to seduce customers with loudspeakers.
The Chateau du Sexe had challenged a municipal noise bylaw, claiming the regulation infringed on its freedom of expression. But the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the bylaw yesterday, ruling it is within the city's jurisdiction to stamp out neighbourhoood nuisances.
"To control noise, the city did not establish an absolute prohibition, but chose to target certain types of sounds that are more likely to stand out over other environmental noise," the judgment reads.
"This choice is, of course, consistent with its delegated power and in no way constitutes an unreasonable or improper exercise of that power."
The Montreal club got into trouble for using a loudspeaker to amplify music and commentary from the show to compete with a nearby club.
Chateau du Sexe day manager Charles Savoie called the ruling "unfair" because the shopping mall next door plays loud music with impunity.
"They don't do anything with them, but with us it makes a difference," he said. "Why? Because we're a sexual club?"
Savoie said the music served to attract customers, especially during the day when patrons aren't sure if the club is open or closed. He predicted it could have a negative impact on the traffic of clients.
But while the ruling is bad for the sex club, it's good news for cities across Canada that craft laws to keep the peace. Ontario provincial government lawyer Shaun Nakatsuru, who had intervened in the case, argued that freedom of expression on public property is not an "absolute freedom."
"The nature of the premises where that expression was being used must be taken into consideration," he said.
