Winnipeg councillor withdraws support for proposed protest bylaw

A Winnipeg city councillor is walking back his support for a controversial bylaw that would restrict where people could protest. Jeff Keele explains.

A Winnipeg councillor is withdrawing their support for a proposed bylaw that would set distance restrictions on where people could protest outside certain facilities in Winnipeg.

Coun. Evan Duncan (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood) shared on Monday that he will recommend the executive policy committee (EPC) take the Safe Access to Vulnerable Infrastructure Bylaw as information and not move forward.

The bylaw would have put a 100-metre limit on where people could protest and fined people who broke the bylaw.

However, there has been a lot of backlash surrounding the proposed bylaw, with some organizations telling CTV News it would infringe on people’s freedom of expression and freedom to peaceful assembly.

Duncan said when the city started looking at the bylaw, it was strictly for people’s safety.

“We didn’t have strong bylaws that spoke to intimidation. We didn’t have strong bylaws that spoke to how people’s safety was being compromised. The intention of this was to address those intimidation factors and not peaceful protests,” said Duncan.

Orvie Dingwall, the former president of the University of Manitoba Faculty Association, said she is pleased to see Duncan change his stance, noting she was very concerned when she first heard about the proposed bylaw.

“This entire proposal should just be shelved or scrapped entirely. There’s no reason to put restrictions on protests in public places,” said Dingwall. “We already have rules, federal laws, provincial laws and municipal bylaws that do prohibit violence and property damage and blocking traffic and those kinds of things.”

She said protests can play such an important role in our society, as they can give groups a voice, but also provide an opportunity to share information with others.

Norman Rosenbaum, a lawyer with Merchant Law, said if this bylaw moved forward, it would have “serious implications on the right of public assembly.”

“This is just rife for a constitutional challenge, and I wonder the circumstances in which this was presented to council where there’s been no consideration of the larger charter issues in our society,” said Rosenbaum.

While pleased with the possibility of the bylaw being shelved, he feels it should never have gotten to this point in the first place.

“The right not to be offended is not the same as the right to tear up our constitution.”

Duncan said this process shows the political system is working.

“You hear from people, you take that into consideration, and you make a decision. Now we could sit at EPC on Tuesday and hear from all of these people and then make a decision or make amendments on the fly, but I think it’s important that we take this away. It’s received as information and if we need to make changes in the future to bring this back, then we can,” said Duncan.

Duncan notes the federal government’s Bill C-9, the Combatting Hate Act, addresses a lot of what the city was trying to do with this bylaw.

He mentioned he will continue to work with all levels of government, law enforcement and the community to ensure everyone feels safe while protesting and accessing facilities in Winnipeg.

EPC will discuss the proposed bylaw on Feb. 17.

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