Toronto city council passes controversial 'bubble zone' protest bylaw
Bylaw restricting protests around places of worship, schools, daycares to come into effect July 2
Toronto councillors have passed a "bubble zone" bylaw aimed at restricting protests around places of worship, daycares and schools in the city.
After a daylong debate, the bylaw passed by a vote of 16 to nine late Thursday afternoon. It is slated to come into effect on July 2.
The measure comes with controversy. Some faith leaders and councillors who support the bylaw had previously argued it didn't go far enough to protect vulnerable groups, while others at city hall maintained that it will infringe on people's right to protest.
During the debate, Ward 11 Coun. Dianne Saxe called certain protests in the city a "pressing and substantial problem."
"Nothing in this bylaw stops people from protesting," she said.
The original version of the bylaw proposed by city staff was for a request-based system that would allow vulnerable institutions to apply for a 20-metre buffer zone around them. For that request to be granted, the owner of an institution would have had to prove it had been affected by a protest within the last 90 days.
Councillors tweaked the bylaw Thursday, instead upping the buffer zone to 50 metres, and removing the provision that an owner would need to prove they had been affected by a protest in their application.
What counts as legitimate protest called into question
The bylaw's enactment comes after months of demonstrations in front of hospitals, places of worship and cultural centres in Toronto following the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, and the subsequent bombardment of Gaza by Israel.
Saxe argued that it's perfectly legitimate for people to protest the conduct of foreign governments in front of their official institutions and embassies, citing U.S. President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as worthy targets for dissent.
"What is not legitimate is to use the excuse of a foreign war that Toronto Jews did not start, do not control and cannot stop, to intimidate toddlers, school children, [and] people going into a synagogue," she said.
Other councillors, however, argued that it's impossible to divorce local protests from overseas violence.
Etobicoke-Lakeshore Coun. Amber Morley said they are directly connected, while denouncing a conflation that any protests at Jewish facilities are by definition antisemitic.
"It is not true to say that every protest that is standing for the rights and freedoms of Palestinians who are subjected to atrocities is antisemitic and anti-Jewish," she said.
Fine for people contravening bylaw set at $5K
Some observers at city hall Thursday flashed signs on laptops and phones in support of Palestinians during the debate, and applauded councillors who expressed worry over free speech being trampled upon.
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association and the Centre for Free expression also weighed in via a joint letter sent to the city last week, saying the bylaw "represents a significant risk to peaceful expression and assembly, and is not necessary in light of existing police powers.
"The police already have broad powers to protect access to property and to intervene in the event of a threat to human physical safety, including during protests," the letter reads. "Therefore, a new bylaw is simply unnecessary."
With the bylaw now passed, Toronto is following in the footsteps of other cities including Vaughan and Brampton, which implemented similar measures last year after protests and clashes sparked calls to prohibit protests near buildings considered to be social infrastructure in the eyes of the city.
Police and bylaw officers in Toronto are expected to warn people in these zones before issuing fines, allowing them the chance to leave the area voluntarily. The maximum fine for people who refuse to leave would be $5,000.