Romanian Exotic dancers in Canada

Gabriela Astanoaiei, medical doctor in Romania, worked as an exotic dancer, for four years in Canada. Her 2008 disappearance was ruled a suicide.

There is a long tradition of Romanian Exotic dancers working in Canada. In 2002 Canada's Ministry of Employment and Immigration began issuing work visas to exotic dancers under it skilled worker program. Canada has categories of occupations where employers are allowed to hire overseas workers because there is a chronic shortage of Canadian citizens with that skill.

While critics would assert that women working under the program were vulnerable to sexual exploitation from their employers, and would be vulnerable to pressure to supplement their official duties with prostitution. Officials would explain that granting the work visas was intended to provide some protections to the women.

In 2005 the program became well known when a young Romanian woman named Alina Balaican, and her Canadian husband, worked on the campaign of their local Member of Parliament, Judy Sgro, who was coincidentally, Canada's Minister of Employment and Immigration. While Balaican had stopped working as an exotic dancer, and so was subject to removal from Canada, as her visa was no longer valid, her marraige to a Canadian husband entitled her to apply to be a Permanent Resident in Canada. Balaican had applied for a Special Minister's Permit. In spite of the name the issuing of these permits was routine, in cases where someone scheduled for removal, who had a valid reason to apply for a change in status, to allow them to stay in Canada long enough for the status change request to be processed.

An inquiry would later conclude Sgro had not committed any impropriety in extending Balaican's stay, that she had never met Balaican, and did not know they had worked on her re-election campaign.