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The second Oka crisis >>Can the naturist utopia known as "Okapulco" be saved? by PHILIP PREVILLE By Michel Vaïs's recollection, his people have been making pilgrimages to the easternmost section of the beach at Oka Provincial Park, a beautiful secluded oasis, for at least 50 years. But, Vaïs says, their utopia is under siege.
Such are the problems of being a naturist, or nudist, in Quebec these days. "This is the problem that arises when a gathering place for naturists attracts a following," says Vaïs, founder and past-president of the Fédération québécoise de naturisme. But now, after the weekend's 'last gasp' of sunbathing weather, the naturists are fighting back. Regular beachgoers have formed the Groupe pour la préservation d'Okapulco--Okapulco being the name used by naturists, police, and park officials for the beach--and are currently circulating a petition to lobby for its official recognition as a naturist area. And, after 20 years of police harassment, they think they might finally succeed. For Vaïs, part of the key to getting that recognition is Lucien Bouchard's transfer of Paul Bégin from the Justice department to the Environment department during the summer's cabinet shuffle. "When he was Justice Minister, he refused to allow police to lay charges against naturists at the beach," he says, noting that Section 174 of the criminal code, which deals with public nudity, stipulates that no charges may be laid without the provincial justice minister's consent. "Bégin was very sympathetic to our cause. Now he's Environment Minister, which means he's in charge of provincial parks and has the power to change the beach's designation." Quebec naturists are also encouraged by the Ontario Superior Court decision early this summer, legalizing toplessness for women. While that decision only applies in Ontario, it has ramifications in Quebec. Nevertheless, the government is not likely to recognize Okapulco anytime soon. Johanne Robitaille, of the Groupe pour la préservation d'Okapulco, takes offence to the old stereotype of naturists as perverts, and says mayor Patry's allegations are unfounded. She adds that Okapulco has become popular with clothed beach visitors--"textiles," as they are known to naturists--because the beach is tranquil and safe. "There are no radios on our section of the beach. People look after one another's kids. And there's never any sexual harassment--people put a stop to it right away. Once there was a rape on the textile section of the beach, but no one ever talked about shutting them down. "There's one woman, a model, who comes to our beach all the time. She's gorgeous and she wears sexy bikinis. Our beach is the only place where she can get some peace and quiet, where people don't constantly ogle her body."
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For the past 20 years, provincial police have been telling them they have no right to be there--though they've never actually charged anyone with anything. And this past summer, mayor Yvan Patry of the municipality of Paroisse d'Oka accused Vaïs's people of gross indecency, thereby attempting to force the provincial government to get rid of the squatters once and for all.