Canada Admits It Financed a String of Striptease Clubs

OTTAWA — The Canadian government admitted Thursday that it financed not one but several striptease clubs in a scandal that has enraged the opposition and titillated the press.

Canada’s Conservative government said Tuesday that a state-run development bank provided more than $1 million to a now-flourishing striptease club popular with Ottawa civil servants, politicians and foreign dignitaries.

Both the government and the development bank have publicly denied knowing the funds, which amounted to $850,000 in U.S. currency, were slated for strip joints.

It was all a big mistake, an embarrassed Industry Minister Harvie Andre told the House of Commons on Thursday, pledging new procedures to prevent it from happening again. The admission came after newspaper reports that the Federal Business Development Bank had provided hundreds of thousands of dollars to strip clubs across the country.

Bank spokesmen were not immediately available for comment on the latest developments. The bank, charged with promoting small business in Canada, said it has tightened its rules to prevent lending to businesses that might be considered offensive.