Nude statues at jail B&B stir controversy in Dorchester
CBC
Bill Steele, who lives in a converted jail with human skulls, a coffin and many other macabre collectibles, is no stranger to controversy.
And he certainly doesn't shy away from it.
He's all about shock value.
"I do make a statement with everything that I do, and if I put it outside, it's for people to enjoy," said Steele, the owner of the Dorchester Jail Bed and Breakfast. "And if you're shocked by it, that's cool.
"I got all kinds of crazy stuff in there. I love it. I love buying weird stuff and having fun."
But Steele's latest purchase has caused a bit of a stir in Dorchester, a community in southeastern New Brunswick near Sackville and now part of the municipality of Tantramar.
Four concrete sculptures on his front lawn along the main drag in Dorchester depict naked women kneeling down with their arms raised and their hands on either side of their heads.
A resident's recent Facebook post on a Dorchester community page drew attention to the statues and began a flurry of more than 80 comments for and against, but mostly against. Commenting was closed on the post after only a few days.
Steele isn't sure what all the fuss is about. He said he's not offended by the statues and said that's what art is for — to promote discussion about individual interpretation.
"I don't think it's disrespectful," he said. "If anybody's sexualizing this, that's their problem, not mine. But if they see something a little bit more provocative, it creates that conversation, and I'm OK with that."
Even so, after hearing the "rumblings" from the community, he removed a fake ball and chain from one of the statues. He also bought tank tops to cover three of them.
"Yeah, I left one uncovered. Yeah, probably on purpose."
Steele said he researched other examples of nude artwork before putting "the girls," as he refers to them, on his lawn in front of the old jail building.
"It's just how everybody takes it. And I think this is acceptable and it's up to interpretation."
For years, there has been “glaring inequity” in the way the province has allocated the millions of dollars in its county roads budget, according to Department of Transportation Minister Chuck Chiasson.
Six months after passing a law aimed at making it easier for new grocery stores to open, Manitoba's premier says lower grocery bills could be on the horizon.
Timothy Smith was acting in self-defence when he punched Landon Waddell, and shouldn't be found guilty of manslaughter, his lawyer says.
Thoroughbred horse racing at Vancouver’s Hastings Racecourse is ending after more than a century, with the operator announcing Friday it will no longer run a racing season at the historic facility.
A memorial to remember lives lost to gender-based violence was held in Charlottetown Friday, ahead of the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, which is marked annually on Dec. 6.
A Calgary dentist who defrauded five insurance companies over a decade should spend up to three years in prison, the prosecution argued Friday.
B.C. Conservation Officer Service says it has called off its search for a bear responsible for an attack on a group of school children in Bella Coola, B.C. on Nov. 20.
The union president called it a rally for solidarity as Iqaluit Housing Authority employees gathered Friday while negotiations are ongoing between the Nunavut Employees Union and the employer.
The federal government is stoking Quebec separatism by walking back its climate commitments — including in its recent deal with Alberta — Liberal MP and former cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault says.
Four more Alberta MLAs are facing recall petitions organized by their constituents, including the first NDP representative to be caught in the province's ongoing wave of recall efforts.
Frank Gehry, the Canadian-born renegade architect behind some of the world's most recognizable buildings, has died at 96.
Hundreds of P.E.I. parents can't find child-care spaces, especially for infants. The provincial government says expanding those spots remains a top priority — and it recognizes the concern.
An Alberta judge says a referendum proposal on Alberta separating from Canada goes against Charter and and Treaty rights, in a decision given less than 24 hours after the provincial government introduced legislation that would have ended the court proceeding.