The freedom to protest is the bedrock of a functioning democracy. Toronto’s new bylaw proposal may parade itself as an act of compassion and protection, but beneath its reassuring façade lies a dangerous impulse to silence dissent and curtail free speech.
The City’s proposed bylaw seeks to prohibit protests and demonstrations near certain locations, specifically schools, cultural centres, and places of worship. The purported aim of the bylaw is to protect “vulnerable institutions” from targeted harassment. However, despite its seemingly benevolent intentions, the bylaw does not protect communities. Instead, it shields powerful institutions from critique and restricts our ability to collectively organize.
Controlling public spaces is inherently political
Our streets have always served as critical sites of resistance. To allow the city to dictate how and where marginalized communities choose their sites of struggle is to curb dissent precisely where it resonates the most. Under this bylaw, the people of Toronto are losing more than a physical location to exercise their constitutionally protected right to protest. We also risk surrendering the very spaces where public dissent gains urgency, visibility, and transformative power.
The proposed restrictions are especially dangerous because they strike directly at the heart of working-class communities whose struggles gain visibility and force through public demonstrations. Schools, cultural centres, and places of worship are not neutral grounds. People value these places because they nurture community building and education. Demonstrations near them directly engage with spaces where society’s values, norms, and future generations are shaped. By restricting protests around these institutions, the bylaw distances the broader community from directly engaging with pressing issues faced by members of the working-class.
In Canada, every single one of the institutions referenced in the bylaw has been a site of resistance where people came together and voiced their demands. In January 1978, members of Toronto’s LGBTQ community protested against a visit by American anti-gay activist Anita Bryant at the Peoples Church in North York. In October 1997, over 126,000 public and Catholic school teachers across Ontario participated in a province-wide walkout outside schools to protest the proposed Bill 160, which sought to overhaul the education system. In 2008, Indigenous activists demanding information and accountability for the victims of Residential Schools protested inside the Metropolitan United Church in downtown Toronto to raise awareness.
In fact, many religious institutions themselves view protest as a moral or sacred act, and religious communities channel their faith in their struggles. In March 2024, Rabbi David Mivasair joined the advocacy group Independent Jewish Voices at a protest outside a synagogue condemning the illegal sale of real estate properties constructed on occupied Palestinian land. Churches, temples, synagogues, and mosques have historically served as platforms for dissent, from anti-war movements to climate justice rallies. To now declare their doorsteps off-limits is to undermine their capacity and desire to exercise the values their members openly welcome and embody.
These examples are part of a long legacy of speaking truth to power in this city. Erasing this possibility under the guise of protecting communities further entrenches the carceral logic of control and concealment.
Where’s the evidence?
The City has released a public survey to consult the public about the proposed bylaw. The consultation itself reveals a superficial commitment to democratic principles without substantively engaging with evidence-based policymaking.
Irina Ceric, Assistant Professor at the University of Windsor’s Faculty of Law and scholar of social movements, critiqued the proposal’s reliance on “content neutrality” as it presupposes equal standing among demonstrators without considering real-world power dynamics. The survey asks respondents about their “feelings” when encountering demonstrations and how the City should respond to these feelings, without recognizing that many people often have negative experiences at protests due to the actions of the police and the nature of the protests themselves (anti-vax, white supremacist gatherings, anti-abortion protests, etc.).
The consultation’s vague reference to Toronto’s existing Hate Activity Policy fails to substantiate how the bylaw would concretely address hate-related violence or discrimination in public demonstrations. The City also neglects to provide even a preliminary explanation for how these regulations would interact with the Charter, despite its significant implications on the freedom of expression and assembly. Ultimately, the bylaw’s most striking deficiency is the failure to explain to Torontonians why it is needed in the first place. As Ceric notes, “there is nothing in the proposal or in the survey that makes the case for why such a bylaw would be necessary.”
Tell the City what you think by May 1st, 2025
Truly protecting vulnerable groups and marginalized communities requires addressing the root causes of hate, inequality, and violence. Instead of introducing limits on our rights, municipal resources are better devoted to defunding the police and investing in community outreach, anti-racism initiatives, and programs that actually tackle systemic inequalities.
If you are concerned about the implications of the bylaw, now is the time to speak up. You can access the consultation and submit your response online. The survey is open until May 1st, 2025. Make sure your voice is part of the record!
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