{"id":611867,"date":"2026-04-18T06:44:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T06:44:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/611867\/"},"modified":"2026-04-18T06:44:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T06:44:11","slug":"is-ottawas-bubble-bylaw-constitutional-councillors-hear-from-all-sides","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/611867\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Ottawa’s ‘bubble’ bylaw constitutional? Councillors hear from all sides"},"content":{"rendered":"

City councillors marked the Charter of Rights and Freedoms\u2019 44th anniversary on Friday by hearing a wide range of arguments from dozens who attended a joint committee meeting to debate the constitutionality of Ottawa\u2019s contentious \u201cbubble\u201d bylaw<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The proposed bylaw, which aims to restrict protests near schools, hospitals<\/a>, long-term care and community health facilities, is meant to establish \u201csafe access zones\u201d for citizens around those facilities and would extend 50 metres from the walkways, doorways and driveways to those buildings.<\/p>\n

Councillors wrestled with a balance between the bylaw\u2019s potential impact on Charter-protected rights and faith leaders\u2019 concerns regarding a rise in hate crimes at their places of worship. Labour union representatives, advocates and legal experts also laid out their concerns in the nearly seven-hour meeting at the Emergency Preparedness and Protective Services and Public Works and Infrastructure\u2019s joint committee.<\/p>\n

Knoxdale-Merivale Coun. Sean Devine, warning of what he said were the bylaw\u2019s \u201cunintended consequences,\u201d moved an amendment that would have limited it to prohibiting \u201cconduct that interferes with access\u201d rather than a \u201ccategorical prohibition on demonstrations.\u201d<\/p>\n

That motion was defeated by the committee 15-2, though, supported only by Devine and Gloucester-Southgate Coun. Jessica Bradley.<\/p>\n

Paul Champ, an Ottawa-based constitutional lawyer, echoed the same sentiment and said one section of the bylaw was too broad in its definition of a \u201cdemonstration\u201d and could prevent people trying to express any political opinion from doing so. Champ, who successfully argued for a court injunction to halt the blaring of truck horns during the 2022 convoy protest<\/a>, singled out that section as one of the most \u201cflagrantly unconstitutional aspects\u201d of the bylaw.<\/p>\n

Champ argued other cities\u2019 bylaws similar to the one proposed for Ottawa were fairly narrow in scope and tended to address specific instances of protest-induced violence. In an interview, Champ cited the example of violent incidents where Vancouver women seeking medical services at an abortion clinic had been physically restrained and harassed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why we have those kinds of bubble zones, but we don\u2019t have any evidence of that kind of activity (in Ottawa),\u201d he said. \u201cFeeling uncomfortable when you see someone waving a flag or marching or saying certain things you disagree with, that\u2019s not grounds to stop a protest and certainly doesn\u2019t justify a bylaw like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Richard Robertson of B\u2019Nai Brith Canada said the country was in the midst of a \u201ccrisis of antisemitism\u201d and that Jewish institutions in Ottawa had been targets of \u201ccaustic protests\u201d in recent weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cJewish houses of worship and Jewish institutions in this province have been targeted with gunfire, underscoring the vulnerability of our institutions and the pressing need to further insulate them,\u201d Robertson said. \u201cThe right of Ottawa\u2019s residents to access vulnerable infrastructure must be protected. The right of every resident to enter and make use of such infrastructure must not be treated as secondary to the rights of nefarious actors to engage in nuisance protests.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe right to peaceful assembly does not include the right to intimidate, harass, obstruct or otherwise compromise the ability of others to exercise their own rights and freedoms.\u201d<\/p>\n

Karin Galldin, a lawyer representing the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions, urged committee members to reject the bylaw on the basis that it \u201ccurtails vital Charter rights.\u201d<\/p>\n

OCHU represents 45,000 workers at hospitals and long-term care facilities across Ontario, with women accounting for 85 per cent of its \u201cdisproportionately racialized\u201d membership and members who have experienced \u201charmful or hateful activities,\u201d Galldin said.<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite this, OCHU members oppose the proposed bylaw and we believe that police have all the powers that they need to protect individuals and institutions under the Criminal Code<\/a>,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

OCHU members do not have the right to strike under Ontario legislation, Galldin said, and workers \u201cregularly participate in demonstrations outside of hospitals or long-term care facilities for issues such as cuts in funding or the privatization of services.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bylaw \u201cnow risks taking even more of these workers\u2019 expressive activity away,\u201d Galldin argued.<\/p>\n

City staff said the 50-metre distance \u2014 instead of the original 80 metres proposed last year \u2014 would still allow protesters to be heard while allowing people to access those facilities and would also prevent protests from spilling into residential areas and impacting neighbouring communities. That measure is consistent with restrictions in other Ontario 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If passed by Ottawa council, the bylaw would take effect in August 2026. Facilities would have to apply for the safe-access zone status, which would be valid for one year with a chance to renew it. These designations would apply 24\/7 to residential-care facilities and to between one hour before opening and one hour after closing time at others.<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

Tempers heat up as protesters and counter-protesters gather near a Broadview Avenue school in June 2023.<\/p>\n

City staff said the regulation would provide more flexibility for demonstrations and wouldn\u2019t interfere with public use of the facilities. Labour disputes and marches passing through one of these facilities would be exempt from the bylaw, staff said.<\/p>\n

Councillors heard wide-ranging input from the community last year, when the proposed bylaw was introduced by Barrhaven West Coun. David Hill. Staff said the amended bylaw \u201cresponds 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<\/p>\n

Champ said Friday that Ottawa already had laws to \u201cstop unlawful activities of protests\u201d and cited the Criminal Code as well as other Ottawa-specific municipal bylaws.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf people are engaging in violent protests, if people are blocking entrances, we already have laws in place that can stop that,\u201d Champ said in an interview with the Ottawa Citizen.<\/p>\n

The ultimate message the bylaw would send, Champ said, is that protests are unwelcome in Canada\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Ottawa) is the place where people come to protest,\u201d Champ said. \u201cOttawa should embrace that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The city council vote on the proposed bylaw is expected on April 22.<\/p>\n

With files from Aedan Helmer<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

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