Justice Minister Sean Fraser’s forthcoming bill follows a ‘horrifying rise in hate and hate-related crimes in our communities,’ his spokesperson said.PATRICK DOYLE/The Canadian Press
Ottawa’s plan to introduce bubble zones to protect places of worship, schools and community centres from harassment by protesters should be extended to protect other targeted groups, such as families attending children’s drag story times in libraries, advocates say.
Justice Minister Sean Fraser’s forthcoming bill, expected to be introduced after Parliament returns, proposes to make it a criminal offence to intentionally obstruct access to places of worship, schools and community centres, and to criminalize intimidation and threats against those attending them.
Jeremy Bellefeuille, Mr. Fraser’s spokesperson, said the move follows a “horrifying rise in hate and hate-related crimes in our communities, with troubling incidents of antisemitism and Islamophobia.”
A number of municipalities have already introduced bylaws creating buffer zones that limit protests within these areas. The bubble zones are designed to ensure unhindered access and protect individuals from harassment and violence.
Abortion clinics in provinces across Canada already have bubble zones to allow people to access their services without intimidation or interference.
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But civil liberties advocates are concerned that a proposed federal law could threaten freedom of speech and curb demonstrations such as the pro-Palestinian protests.
Anaïs Bussières McNicoll, director of the fundamental freedoms program at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, questioned whether a bubble zone law is required as laws already exist to deal with threats of violence. She said the police also “have the ability to intervene to protect physical safety, including safe access to property.”
She said freedom of speech and the right to protest are vital components of democracy, and expressed fears that bubble zones could be used to curb legitimate protest. The wording of any bubble zone laws needs to be closely scrutinized to ensure they would not stymie freedom of expression, she said.
But others say the coming bill should pave the way for bubble zones to be more broadly applied if protests are violent, unruly or stop people accessing venues.
Helen Kennedy, executive director of LGBTQ advocacy group Egale Canada, said it was vital to protect people’s right to protest and their right to express their discontent, including with government policies. But she said that people don’t have the right to intimidate those who want to enjoy drag story time with their family.
“If you want to take your family to a drag story time at the local library, chances are that you will be intimidated, and your family will be intimidated. There’s been drag story times all over the country where libraries have been targeted where the drag story time has been shut down, where library workers have been threatened,” she said.
Among the drag story events targeted by protests was one in 2023 at an outdoor amphitheatre in Mississauga, Ont., where more than a dozen protesters surrounded the audience with signs with slogans including, “Stop sexualization of children.” When the show ended, protesters followed the drag artists off stage chanting, “Leave our kids alone.”
Liberal MP Anthony Housefather, who led a call from 32 Liberal MPs last week for action to tackle rising antisemitism after a Jewish grandmother in Ottawa was stabbed in a supermarket, said, “From attacks on synagogues, Jewish schools and monuments, Jewish-owned businesses, Jewish community organizations and lately individual Jews themselves, antisemitism is becoming normalized.”
He told The Globe and Mail that buildings used by vulnerable communities – for examples seniors’ residences – should not be excluded from the option of a bubble zone if they are being targeted.
He said he would support “mechanisms for communities being harassed” to apply for bubble zones, as happens with abortion clinics in Ontario.
Transgender advocate Gemma Hickey said centres where non-binary and trans people congregate as well as clinics and community centres offering peer support and counselling provide “a lifeline.”
But they said many trans people have expressed fear about leaving their homes “because they’ve encountered protestors on their way to community organizations who are becoming more aggressive.”
Hickey said that having the option to apply for a bubble zone could help ensure they can access safe spaces.
“We’ve seen it work with access to care in relation to abortion clinics. I believe this model could be adapted to support marginalized populations given the escalation of aggression communities like mine are experiencing.”
Rabbi Glenn Black, chief executive of the Jewish youth organization NCSY Canada, warned that if bubble zones were restricted to venues such as synagogues and community centres, he feared protests could migrate to other locations where Jewish groups meet, including conventions, summer camps or retreats.
But pro-Palestinian protester Jad Shamseddine said bubble zones are a step toward repression of free speech.
Mr. Shamseddine, a spokesperson for other protesters, said in an e-mailed statement, “Current provincial and municipal laws on the subject of protests and demonstrations are already largely sufficient (if not sometimes too stringent when enforced by overzealous police forces) to manage protests.”
“Creating bubble zones on top of the existing regulatory framework is a clear violation of charter protected rights of freedom of speech and freedom of assembly in that they create unnecessary but onerous impediments to peaceful demonstrations of citizens denouncing atrocities and injustice,” he said.
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association in June launched a legal challenge to a bubble zone bylaw in Vaughan, Ont. on the grounds that it threatens the right to protest and to peaceful assembly and prohibits freedom of expression.
The bylaw prohibits organizing or participating in a nuisance demonstration within 100 metres of the property line of “vulnerable” venues such as a place of worship, school, child care centre, hospital or care facility.
Vaughan Mayor Steven Del Duca said the bylaw “was designed to prevent protests that are not peaceful, and intimidate and incite hatred or violence.
“It does not prohibit peaceful gatherings, protests or demonstrations, including activities that are part of a labour union strike. Every resident – regardless of background – deserves to feel safe, respected and welcome in all public and communal spaces,” he said.