I am all for a neighborhood being able to have a say in how it is developed and used. And I myself have actually never been inside a strip club. I suppose as a young man going to the Palace late on a Saturday night was enough.

But anyone who has had interaction with the "Liquor Board," or the Nova Scotia Alcohol and Gaming Authority as it is formally known, recognizes that the AGA is known for its arbitrary, unwritten, capricious and generally small town approach to licensing and regulation.

The Board uses its un-appealable decisions and regulatory harassment to keep licensees and anyone dealing with booze in line. Step out of line, expect inspections on a daily basis, expect to have any special requests turned down. And by step out line means "question why things are they way they are" or "ask for something in writing." Because they can (and will) ruin your business, it is unlikely that any licensee will speak out against them.

Women dancing in bikinis can be argued by any lawyer or pedant to be "adult entertainment." It is, however, a very clever ploy for Sensations to use. Because, as I said, as a young man, going to the Palace was very close to going to a strip club. If (barely) clothed women dancing in a sexually suggestive fashion is adult entertainment, then what about the paid cage dancers at the Palace? What about the tweakers bumping and grinding at the Pacifico? What about the drunk, lewd cougars at Boomers? What about the 'hard bodies and hot legs' or 'wet teeshirt' contests?

Undoubtedly, adult entertainment, each one. If what you mean is adults staring at one another, thinking lewd thoughts...

Personally, I think the AGA should be shut down. Criminal acts? Call the cops. Health issues? We have health inspectors. But land use, that is municipal. HRM and other municipalities should license, or not, based on the municipal by-laws. Having two layers of administration is a waste of tax payers money. As for the strip club... probably the way to solve it is as simple as ordering him not to have an inside door from the bar to the un-licensed area... if patrons have to walk outside I expect the business will die the death pretty fast.

Strip club uses loophole to create separate, booze-free lap-dance Den