After a nearly year-long wait, Ottawa city councillors will now have a chance to debate the controversial \u201cbubble bylaw\u201d that aims to restrict protests near schools, hospitals, long-term care facilities and community health facilities.<\/p>\n
According to a 39-page staff report, the bylaw would establish \u201csafe access zones\u201d around those facilities, which would extend 50 metres from walkways, doorways and driveways to those buildings instead of the original 80 metres proposed last year. <\/a>Staff said the distance would still allow protesters to be heard while allowing people to access those facilities, while also preventing protesters from spilling into residential areas and impacting neighbouring communities. It is also consistent with restrictions in other municipalities like Toronto and Oakville, which passed similar bylaws in 2025.<\/p>\n The bylaw could also ban loudspeakers and other sound amplification devices, as well as pyrotechnics.<\/p>\n Facilities would have to apply for the safe-access zone status, which would be valid for a year with a chance to renew it. These designations would apply 24\/7 to residential care facilities and to one hour before opening and closing at others. Staff said this regulation would provide more flexibility for demonstrations and didn\u2019t interfere with public use of the facility.<\/p>\n Labour disputes and marches passing through one of these facilities would be exempt from the bylaw, staff said.<\/p>\n If passed by council, the bylaw will take effect on Aug. 1.<\/p>\n \u201cThe recommended by-law responds to council\u2019s direction and is designed to prioritize safe access to vulnerable social infrastructure while ensuring that measures are proportionate and minimally impair fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression, assembly, and association,\u201d the report read.<\/p>\n Somerset Coun. Ariel Troster,<\/a> who voted for the motion with \u201cextreme reservations,\u201d previously expressed concerns over the potential for handing sweeping new powers to police or bylaw officers. She also cited landmark protests that advanced LBTQ2S+ causes, like the Stonewall riots in New York City in 1969, and said the act of protest was \u201cnot always convenient\u201d and \u201cnot always quiet.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe purpose is to be disruptive and it is to make people listen,\u201d Troster said after a committee meeting in May 2025. \u201cAnd people do it when they\u2019re desperate, when they don\u2019t have any other place or any other way that they can make their voice heard.\u201d<\/p>\n Community safety vs. right to protest<\/p>\n The staff report noted that the bubble bylaw came amid a rise in hate-motivated crimes, demonstrations and public perception of community safety.<\/p>\n Data from Statistics Canada suggests that the number of police-reported hate crimes has more than doubled in recent years, with 4,777 cases reported in 2023. Ontario ranked second among all provinces per capita with 15.6 incidents per 100,000 people. This was higher than the national average, which was 12 incidents per 100,000 people. Most police-reported hate crimes targeting a religion were directed at Jewish and Muslim populations.<\/p>\n Data from the Ottawa Police Service\u2019s Community Safety Data Portal also suggests that police-reported hate crime incidents have increased since 2018. However, there was a four-per-cent year-over-year decrease in hate crime incidents reported in 2024: 467, down from 487 in 2023.<\/p>\n City staff said that any restrictions on protests must adhere to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms while balancing individual freedoms and community interests.<\/p>\n \u201cThese freedoms, however, are not unlimited \u2026 When municipalities regulate activities that may affect Charter rights, they must balance individual freedoms with broader community interests,\u201d staff wrote in the report.<\/p>\n \u201cThe proposed by-law seeks to take a targeted and measured approach. It seeks to respect the right to protest while also addressing concerns about health, safety, and access to important community infrastructure and services.\u201d<\/p>\n Knoxdale-Merivale Coun. Sean Devine, who voted against the motion last May, previously told the Ottawa Citizen <\/a>that he wanted to defer the bubble bylaw development because he was concerned about serious infringements to freedom of expression, which would make the city prone to lawsuits and legal challenges.<\/p>\n