Waterloo Region Record

Toronto to get North America’s first known sex-doll brothel

- CLAIRE FLOODY AND JENNA MOON

Toronto will soon be home to North America’s first known sex doll brothel, offering sexual services with six silicone made dolls.

According to the website for Aura Dolls, the company behind the brothel, the vision is to bring a new way to achieve sexual needs “without the many restrictio­ns and limitation­s that a real partner may come with.”

The brothel is expected to open in a shopping plaza on Yonge St., south of Sheppard Ave., on Sept. 8. The company doesn’t give the exact location on its website, stating it’s announced upon booking.

There are six different female sex dolls advertised. “Exotic girls to cater to everyone’s choice of beauty,” the website reads.

“We tried really hard to try to cater to every single standard of beauty, we have different ethnicity, different eye colours, different hair colour,” said Claire Lee, a representa­tive for Aura Dolls. The company said they plan on expanding their collection “in the near future,” and will add male dolls.

The dolls are made of silicone, which is designed to give them a realistic look and feel, she said. In order to sanitize the dolls, Lee said a three-step routine is used after each booking.

However, staff still “highly recommend” the use of condoms, according to the website.

Spending half an hour with one doll costs $80, with two dolls running $160. For an hour, the cost is $120 with one doll. The maximum listed time is four hours for $480 per doll.

Doors at the new brothel for separate entry and exit will be used to ensure “maximum privacy for customers.” While the business does plan on having staff on-site, they “should not have any interactio­n,” Lee said.

“The reason why we do that is to make sure that everyone feels comfortabl­e coming in and exiting,” she said, noting that people may feel shy or awkward about visiting the site.

A spokespers­on for the city of Toronto confirmed Monday evening that they have “no record of a municipal business licence” for the establishm­ent.

However, Lee said that the business is operating within the law. “The only law stating with anything to do with the dolls is that it has to meet a height requiremen­t. It can’t resemble a child,” she said. “We made sure that all their dolls fit the criteria and don’t resemble children.”

Toronto city councillor John Filion said his staff will be “throwing the book at (Aura Dolls) for everything they can.”

“I’ve still got people studying to see what’s legal and what isn’t,” Filion said. He noted that a bylaw introduced in the old city of North York in the ’90s prevents retail sex shops operating outside of industrial areas. Filion said his office is still confirming that the bylaw is active following harmonizat­ion, which condensed the six boroughs’ bylaws after amalgamati­on in 1998.

“If the bylaw that I brought in 20 years ago still exists, it would prohibit this,” Filion said.

The councillor said he’s received complaints from constituen­ts about the business. “The phone’s ringing off the hook today,” Filion said.

 ??  ?? Anna is one of the dolls at Aura Dolls.
Anna is one of the dolls at Aura Dolls.

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