Safe Access to Social Infrastructure By-law

The recitals

• Council recognizes the importance of protecting safe access to vulnerable social infrastructure, including schools, places of worship, healthcare facilities, and care homes, and affirms that specific conduct such as intimidation, harassment, obstruction, and violence are unacceptable and should be firmly addressed
• Council’s direction to staff emphasized that the scope of the proposed by-law should be narrowly tailored to avoid unnecessary infringement on Charter-protected rights, and that safe access zones should not apply to demonstrations that are not specifically directed at a protected facility
• the proposed Safe Access to Social Infrastructure By law contains multiple conduct based prohibitions—including obstruction, interference, intimidation, and noise—that are directly connected to the objective of safe access
• Section 17(2)(a) of the proposed by law goes materially further by stating that within a safe access zone, “no person shall conduct or participate in a demonstration”, regardless of whether such activity would impede safe access
• safe access by laws adopted in other Ontario municipalities regulate specific forms of harmful conduct or targeted expression that impede access, while the proposed Ottawa by law prohibits demonstrations or protests as a category within safe access zones, regardless of conduct or targeting
• Council is mindful of its obligation to ensure that any limits on freedom of expression and peaceful assembly imposed by municipal by law are reasonable, demonstrably justified, and capable of meeting the requirements of section 1 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, including the tests set out in R. v. Oakes
• a categorical prohibition on demonstrations, rather than a prohibition targeted at conduct that interferes with access, particularly in the absence of a demonstrable evidentiary record showing that safe access to a given social infrastructure is at risk, significantly increases the risk that the by law would fail the minimal impairment and proportionality requirements of the Oakes analysis
• the City’s own public engagement shows strong support for protecting access and preventing intimidation or harassment, while also showing broad public acceptance of lawful, peaceful protest activities
• Council wishes to ensure that the Safe Access to Social Infrastructure By law protects users of community facilities and remains consistent with Council’s direction, the consultation record, and constitutional requirements