In response to protests over Calgary Alberta's drag queen story hour program, the city council has banned protests within 100 meters of a library or recreational facility.
Calgary city council passes safety bylaws after protests at library drag events | CBC News - Canadian Press:
March 15, 2023 - "Calgary city council has updated a bylaw and brought in another to address escalating protests at drag events.... The new law, called the Safe and Inclusive Access Bylaw, will immediately prohibit protests within 100 metres of an entrance to a recreation facility or library....
"Mayor Jyoti Gondek told reporters.... 'There's no banning of protests. It is simply removing [them] from the entrance so that people can have a safe experience inside those buildings.' Several councillors questioned the speed of the bylaw changes and wanted more time to consider the matter, but council ultimately voted 10-5 in favour of the new bylaw [which] will come back to council for a review in a month."
OP-ED: The real problem with Calgary’s new drag story time protest ban | True North - Ryan O'Connor
March 16, 2023 - "The bylaw was rushed through Council, debated in one session, not subjected to the customary committee review, with city staff even admitting that the bylaw is the first of its kind in Canada.... Further scrutiny and study would have revealed that not only is Calgary’s bylaw a solution in search of a problem, but that it is one of the more egregious and unconstitutional exercises of authority in a major Canadian municipality in recent memory, and will actually prevent most, if not all, public demonstrations – even those that Councillors might endorse.
"There are already laws to address actual 'physical harm' caused to community members. Assault, uttering threats, and mischief are all offences under the Criminal Code. Hate-motivated offences can attract additional criminal penalties. Alberta already has trespass laws that prevent demonstrators from entering certain private spaces. Councillors presumably know this, which is why they needed to extend their authority to prevent the 'psychological harm' they feel occurs when protestors raise uncomfortable issues. Unfortunately for these Councillors, however, the Charter protects the freedoms of expression and assembly, and any infringement of these rights must be justified as a reasonable limit....
"The bylaw as enacted bans peaceful, silent protests on sidewalks and public areas outside designated municipal buildings.... A single person holding a sign related to any of these causes would be charged under the bylaw. Of course, any counter-protest related to any of these causes would also be banned. And given that some political protests are restricted, but not others, the law will likely be applied in a discretionary manner, open for abuse and misuse by city authorities and the targeting of certain groups over others based solely on their ideology, religion, or otherwise. Banning virtually all demonstrations on certain public property during daytime hours, which do not impede the public and may not even create noise ... will surely fail to be justified under the Charter and will be struck down....
"It is an unfortunate symptom of our political culture that speech a politician doesn’t like is now classified as a 'harm' impacting 'safety', as if words are fists and a placard is a weapon. Instead of responding to protestors and political opponents with respect, kindness, and better arguments, Calgary City Council has chosen to use the hammer of the law to avoid any heavy persuasive lifting. In doing so, rather than have the best political argument win, Calgary City Council has decided to unconstitutionally shut down most political protests – even ones with which they agree."
Read more: https://tnc.news/2023/03/16/oconnor-calgary-drag/
No comments:
Post a Comment