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GUELPH, Ont. — Nearly 25 years after a woman strolled through the streets of Guelph to win the right to walk topless, an eight-year-old girl who took her shirt off to take a dip in a wading pool was told to cover up by municipal staff in the southwestern Ontario city.

Cory McLean said his daughter Marlee and three step-brothers all stripped to the waist Saturday but only she was told to put on a shirt by a lifeguard, who cited city policy that prohibits girls over the age of four going topless at city pools.

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The girl, who didn’t understand why she was being singled out, put her top back on so she could continue playing, he said.

“She was so embarrassed and really nervous and scared because it appeared she was in trouble,” McLean said.

Marlee broke a “sexist and antiquated” rule, said her dad, who called for it to be changed.

‘We try our best to balance a number of factors including our community standards, legal rights of our employees (and) citizens, cultural norms and the rights and freedoms of all of our patrons’

City officials said the policy is meant to balance the safety and comfort of everyone using public facilities such as pools.