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Saskatchewan senior jailed for going topless

WebPosted Tue Sep 21 08:12:01 1999 REGINA - A 65-year-old Saskatchewan
woman whose fight for equal rights made waves last year has been sent to
jail for going topless at a swimming pool.

In a Regina court Monday, Evangeline Godron was fined $200 for mischief.
She refused to pay and, so, must now spend a month behind bars.

Godron's lawyer, James Rybchuk, says they haven't decided if they'll take
the case to a higher court.

But Rybchuk says Canada's high courts might have to look into the issue of
women going topless.

Rybchuk says Saskatchewan has a lot of catching up to do when it comes to
women going topless, and this court decision proves it.

"Probably 20 years behind the laws for Europe and 50 years behind the laws
for men," he said.

Women can go topless at beaches in Ontario because a university student
fought the laws there. Rybchuk thought Godron had the chance to make the
same impact in Saskatchewan, he said.

But the Saskatchewan judge said Godron knew that women were not allowed to
swim topless at the pool and that the police would be called.

Godron says she was challenging the rules of the pool because they
discriminate against women.

She doesn't plan to pay or work off the fine.

"She said that she would rather go to jail and have a mere denial of her
liberty than to be forced into slavery to work for the state," Rybchuk told
CBC News.

<http://cbcnews.cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/news/1999/09/21/breast_sk
990921>

janet paterson
52 now / 41 dx / 37 onset
613 256 8340 po box 171 almonte ontario canada K0A 1A0
a new voice: <http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Village/6263/>
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