Toronto council to vote today on proposed bylaw that limits protests outside places of worship
Councillors are debating the proposal at city hall on Thursday which would establish a 20-metre radius around places likes churches, hospitals, schools, daycares and libraries if requested by the owners of those facilities.
The bylaw, which was released last week by the city manager, requires those owners to attest that a protest, which 'impeded' access to the property, had occurred in the previous three months. Successful applications would result in an 'access area' or what's known as a 'bubble zone' being established for 180 days, which could then be renewed.
Protests in the city have increased in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war and Toronto police said earlier this year that they responded to 2,000 'unplanned events' in 2024. It's unclear how many of those protests took place outside of the institutions described in the bylaw.
The city said it would need to spend $1.6 million for 12 bylaw officers to enforce the rules. Another $200,000 would go towards public education. Those who break the bylaw could face a fine of up to $5,000.
If approved, the bylaw would go into effect on July 2.
The city manager was asked to craft the bylaw, in consultation with the city solicitor, in Dec. 2024. Since then, a number of public consultations were held to gather input and found that 63 per cent of respondents were either strongly unsupportive or somewhat unsupportive of the law.
Speaking before council on Wednesday, Chow acknowledged that the city has to balance competing priorities.
'On one hand, there are community concerns around attending places of worship and a lot of fear for their safety. On the other hand, we have to protect the Charter rights to freely assemble and expression,' she said.
Coun. James Pasternak put forward two motions Wednesday to increase the size of the 'bubble zone' from 20 metres to 50 or 100 metres and underscored that he believes the law would not impact freedom of speech.
'It doesn't take any rights away. It doesn't take away the right to protest, the right to picket, or the right to free speech. And all it's doing is extending rights to those who want to walk into vulnerable institutions,' he said Wednesday.
Coun. Chris Moise put forward his own motion to defer a vote on the proposed bylaw to wait until Ottawa introduces a federal law related to accessing places of worship, something Prime Minister Mark Carney said he would table in the run up to last month's election. The motion was defeated.
Similar bylaws have been passed in Vaughan and Brampton, after large-scale, and in some cases violent, protests broke out near synagogues and temples, respectively, last year. Those bylaws limit protests to 100 metres from a place of worship and owners of those institutions do not need to apply for an access area to be established.
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