Saskatoon sunbathers go topless to prove a point
About 30 people gathered Sunday to celebrate International Topless Day
Several sunbathers in Saskatoon went bare-chested on Sunday to celebrate International Topless Day.
It was a first for Mariah Cox, one of about 30 people, many of whom did not wear tops, who gathered on a sandbar in the city's north end.
"Today I'm out here just to enjoy my civil liberties, have a good time at the beach with everybody else," Cox said.
She referred to cases where women have been asked to cover up, and said women and men must recieve equal treatment.
"It's not harmful to anybody," Cox said.
She said she will likely go topless again on hot days, but she added she's probably OK with situations where both men and women are required to wear shirts.
"I hope this will make people more confident to stand up for what people believe in."
It's about rights, say supporters
Neil Sinclair said he came to the event to support women's equality.
"Today is just people exercising their legal rights and setting an example for Saskatoon that from this day forward in a public place, where men can go topless women can go topless also," Sinclair said.
Court decisions in Saskatchewan, Ontario and British Columbia over the past two decades have affirmed women's rights to go topless in public.
The issue flared up again this summer when three women in Kitchener, Ont., were stopped by a police officer for cycling without any shirts on. In another case this summer, a woman in Kelowna, B.C., said she was approached by an RCMP officer while sunbathing topless and told to cover up.