Veronica Kazoleas, a sex shop owner has refused to close her store despite being forced to by lockdown restrictions.

According to her, the business is essential.

Veronica Kazoleas owns The Nookie in College Street, Toronto, Canada, and has vowed to stand up for her legal rights and “the human rights of her customers”.

All of Ontario is moving into a month-long lockdown on Boxing Day as the province tries to curb rising coronavirus case numbers and spare hospitals and their intensive care units from being inundated in January.

But Veronica has told Global News her sex shop meets the requirements for an essential service, adding she has no plans to close.

“Now all they will say to me is that they can confirm I’m breaking the law and when I say to them what law and how and when my lawyer says to them what law and how they will not answer,” she said, referencing correspondence with City of Toronto and public health officials.

“Businesses that sell medical supplies and devices are determined to be essential, as they should be, and that is what my business sells,” she said on Wednesday.

In a statement issued to Global News, a City of Toronto spokesperson said they would not comment on the specifics of the case.

“Sex shops are not included in the list of businesses that may remain open to the public for in-person retail sales. Businesses that are not permitted to open for in-person retail sales can still provide curbside pickup and online sales,” Alex Burke wrote in a statement.

“The City expects all businesses to comply with the lockdown regulation.

“The regulations put in place by the Province determine which businesses can remain open and which must remain closed. The requirements, as outlined in the province’s lockdown regulation, focus on and describe businesses by type of business.”

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