Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe is proposing a new bylaw to regulate protests near schools, churches and other 'vulnerable' sites as the city seeks to strike a balance between public safety and the right to free expression. The proposed bylaw would create buffer zones around places of worship, schools and long-term care homes in response to a rise in hate crimes.
Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe is proposing a new bylaw to regulate protests near schools, churches and other "vulnerable" sites as the city seeks to strike a balance between public safety and the right to free expression .Counter-protesters hold a banner near Broadview Public School in Ottawa in June 2023. A proposed bylaw would restrict protests outside schools, churches and other 'vulnerable' institutions.
"But at the same time, we want to make sure that that's not taking place within a certain distance of religious institutions, community centres, schools, places where people gather and want to feel safe." Demonstrators take part in an anti-vaccination protest in front of The Ottawa Hospital's Civic campus on Sept. 1, 2021. According to Ottawa police statistics, hate crimes in Ottawa against members of the city's Muslim, Jewish, 2SLGBTQ+ and other minority communities increased by 19 per cent in 2023.
"If you want to protest the federal government about a concern on a policy, come to Parliament Hill," he said. "But what we don't want is for senior citizens and long-term care homes to feel harassed, intimidated and unsafe." Silver pointed to recent protests outside a long-term care facility that's home to Holocaust survivors, describing those events as "traumatizing" and "intimidating."
Ottawa Protests Bylaw Vulnerable Sites Free Expression
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