City to look into boosting illegal demonstration penalties
City council has ordered staff to look into raising fines penalizing unruly behaviour by demonstrators.
The directive was made in response to a pair of demonstrations organized by the pro-life group The Canadian Centre for Bio-ethical Reform (CCBR), held on Main Street on June 4 and Aug. 11, which angered some local residents.
“Both times they demonstrated they were in clusters and that’s illegal,” said Mayor Peter Brown. “We need to make [the fines] more substantive.”
At the June 4 protest, local mother Carolynn Olsen and her seven-year-old daughter walked by protestors holding placards depicting bloody, aborted fetuses. On Aug. 11, two teenage girls walking by the demonstration alleged that information and photos were shoved in their faces.
The father of one of the girls took the issue to council later that month.
“It’s about human decency, the ability to walk down the street without seeing graphic and disturbing images,” Kevin Hughes said.
As a result, council asked staff to research municipal, provincial and federal legislation relating to the regulation of protests.
Staff reported back, last week, that there are three existing city bylaws regulating demonstrations.
The first states pedestrians must not crowd or jostle others in an effort to cause discomfort or a disturbance. The second makes it illegal for three or more people to group together on a highway, sidewalk or boulevard in order to prevent someone from using that area. The last bylaw makes it unlawful for a person to ignore a peace officer’s order to disperse.
Each offence carries a $50 fine.
“There were no bylaws that regulated these demonstrations any further than that,” said Darryl Poburan, the City’s manager of municipal enforcement, RCMP and building inspections.
Besides raising the fines, Brown said there isn’t much that city council can do without running afoul of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
“When you’re getting into constitutional questions, the municipal government doesn’t really have any legs to stand on,” said Brown.
Brown also wished to make clear that it was the actions of the protestors, not their message, that the City takes issue with.
“I’m not sure this is the most effective way for them to make their point,” he said. “They don’t appear to be garnering a lot of support.”
It is unknown the next time the CCBR plans to demonstrate in Airdrie.
“The CCBR informs city staff that it would not keep council informed when events take place in Airdrie, but will keep the RCMP informed when they hold the events,” said Poburan.
The group also plans to videotape all its events in order to discourage violence, he said.
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