Article content continued

But even so, it’s tough to find those performing body modifications because these artists freelance or do their branding and tongue splitting after hours or at home, Ms. Kearns said. Personal service settings don’t require a license and so many inspectors depend on new establishments to tell them about any body modification they’d be doing. But that’s not required by law.

“We’d inspected a premise we’re aware of that’s low risk and then suddenly they bring in an artist who is doing more procedures and elevating the risk,” she said. “It’s very difficult, from our perspective.”

Winnipeg is one of the only places in Canada to outright ban body modification beyond tattoos and piercings. As of June 2008, the city outlawed scarification and implants after people from the industry voiced concerns about body modifiers that were alleged to have spread disease through their practices, said Pat Masterton, public health inspection coordinator for Winnipeg.

“I think the people who wanted to be reputable operators and run proper businesses carrying on sanitary processes wanted to make sure the whole industry was not going to be labelled because someone out there was doing something that was going to be causing infection,” she said.

Vancouver-based body modifier Elwood Reid is aware of many Winnipeg shops opening after 5 p.m. when public health officers are finished work, he said.

“If you outright make something illegal, it goes underground and as soon as it’s underground you have no control over it,” he said. “So there’s a group of us that is trying to have some sort of standards and the ability to have proper training that the medical community sees us legitimate.”