Clothing-optional protest against police stance on public nudity planned for Prince's Island Park

A group that advocates for clothing-optional public recreation in Calgary is preparing to protest how the local police service has treated public nudity over the years — though the founder of the club says law enforcement’s response to his request for a sit-down meeting will determine whether the demonstration proceeds.

The clothing-optional protest, if it ultimately goes forward, would be held Aug. 30 in Prince’s Island Park.

Jeff, who only provided Postmedia his first name, is the founder and president of Calgary Nude Recreation, a naturist club that he launched in 2017 to advocate for the legitimacy of clothing-optional beaches and activities in Calgary.

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His group made national headlines in 2018 after organizing a nude, after-hours swimming event at Southland Leisure Centre. The city cancelled the event before it occurred after it received backlash and some members of the club received threats of violence, according to Jeff.

What spurred the proposed Prince’s Island Park protest, according to Jeff, is that local naturists have become fearful of reaching out to Calgary Police Service if they experience an altercation or a crime, such as voyeurism, while bathing at Calgary’s two clothing-optional beaches. One of those is in Weaselhead Flats, while the other is in a secluded spot in Fish Creek Provincial Park.

Nudists are afraid the attending officer will cite them for public nudity, Jeff argued.

“People see calling the police as a gamble,” he said. “What happens is, troublemakers figure out that they can cause a ruckus in a clothing-optional area.

“Any nude beach in North America has this problem because it’s in a grey area. People go there knowing they can disrupt and nobody will call the police on them.”

There is ample case law in Canada recognizing the legitimacy of recreational public nudity, Jeff argued, pointing to change rooms at recreation facilities, nude photography, artistic modelling and theatric performance as examples of socially acceptable nudity.

The Supreme Court recognizes four “lawful excuses” for public nudity, he added, which include running away from a sexual assailant or a burning building while naked.

“There are already instances in our society where public nudity is already tolerated,” he said.

“If you have a lawful excuse, you’re not breaking any law. The CPS refuses to address ‘with lawful excuse’ and pretend that sentence doesn’t exist. They pretend there’s an outright ban.”